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THE  CENTRAL  PARK. 


A 


D  E  S  C  R  I  P  T  I  O 


OF  THE 


NEW     YORK 


CENTEAL    PARK 


NEW  YORK: 
F.   J.    IIUNTINGTON    AND  CO., 

459     B  R  0  0  ME      S  T  R  K  E  T. 
1809. 


KnUTcd  acconliiiL'  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1S68, 

Uy  F.  -J.    llt'NTINGTON  AND   C'O, 

In  tho  Clerk's  Olliw.-  of  the  District  Coint  of  the  United  States.   For  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


ALVOKU. 


PUBLISHER'S    NOTE. 


IT  is  hoped  that  this  work  will  please  the  public  to 
whom  it  has  been  so  long*  promised.  It  was  projected 
three  years  ago,  but  its  appearance  has  been  delayed  by 
causes  that  will  be  understood  by  every  one  who,  in 
America,  has  undertaken  to  produce  a  costly,  illustrated 
volume.  Yet,  this  delay  is  not  without  a  compensating 
advantage,  for  it  has  enabled  the  publishers  to  furnish 
an  account  of  the  Park  in  a  state  much  nearer  comple- 
tion than  it  .was  when  the  book  was  first  announced. 

* 

• 

20O037G 


vi  PUBLISHERS'    NOTE. 

While  tliis  book  lias  been  designed,  rather  as  a 
pleasure-book  for  the  eye  and  the  mind,  than  as  a 
formal  guide  to  the  Park,  it  may  safely  be  recom- 
mended for  that  purpose  to  those  to  whom  its  size  is 
no  objection,  by  the  fulness  of  its  details,  and  the 
accuracy  of  its  facts. 

One  of  our  most  popular  artists,  Mr.  A.  F.  Bellows, 
has  spent  many  months  in  making  the  drawings  which 
add  so  much  to  the  value  of  the  work ;  our  best 
engravers  have  employed  their  skill  in  cutting  them 
on  the  wood ;  and  the  lovers"  of  beautiful  printing  will 
easily  recognize  in  the  press-work  the  hand  of  Alvord. 


AUTHOK'S    PEEFACE. 


THE  writer  of  the  following  pages  cannot  think 
his  work  complete  without  an  expression  of  thanks  to 
those  gentlemen  officially  connected  with  the  Central 
Park,  to  whom  he  is  so  much  indebted  for  the  means 
of  securing  whatever  accuracy  may  he  allowed  to  be- 
long to  his  performance. 

Although  the  Government  of  the  Park  is  not  in 
any  way  responsible  for  any  statement  contained  in 
these  pages  other  than  such  as  are  founded  on  its 


viii  AUTHOR'S     PREFACE. 

Annual  Reports,  yet  every  facility  lias  been  cordially 
given  to  the  writer  to  make  himself  acquainted  with 
the  topography  of  the  Park,  and  with  so  much  of  its 
management  as  it  was  desirable  or  proper  to  communi- 
cate. And  it  certainly  is  not  out  of  any  desire  to 
flatter  the  Commissioners  that  the  belief  is  here  ex- 
pressed, that  the  more  closely  the  management  of  this 
important  undertaking  is  studied,  the  more  it  will 
appear  that,  disgraceful  beyond  all  power  of  words  ade- 
quately to  express  it  as  has  been  of  late  years  the 
administration  of  the  Government  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  yet  the  Commissioners  of  the  Central  Park  have 
given  our  citizens  all  the  proof  that  is  needed  that  it 
is  still  possible  to  perform  great  public  trusts  with  true 
economy,  with  unimpeachable  honesty,  and  with  a 
single,  constant  eye  to  the  public  good. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


VIEW    LOOKING    NORTH.   \EAR   Mu 

SECM FUOXTISPIECE 

PLAN  OF  THE  PARK Page  12-13 

THE  LAKE  NEAR  FIFTH  AVENUE  AND 

59f H  STREET 32 

THE  A  RSENAL 33 

BRIDGE    OVER    THE    BlMDLE    PATH, 

NEAR  AESENAL,  ...    35 

THE  MALL,    LOOKING  UP. 36 

THE  FOOT  PATH  BY  WILLOWS,  SOUTH- 
EAST OF  MALI 38 

DRINKING  FOUNTAIN 40 

THE  TERRACE  FROM  THE  NORTH 42 

THE  Music   STAND . .  45 

TERRACE,    LOOKING  SOUTH...  . 46 

STAIRS  LEADING  TO  THE  LAKE— TER- 
RACE     47 

PORTRAIT  OF  JACOB  WREY  MOULD..  50 
STONE  SCREEN  DIVIDING  PLAZA  FROM 

CARRIAGE  ROAD 52 

STAIRS    FROM    CARRIAGE    ROAD    TO 

LOWER  TERRACE 54 

FOUNTAIN  ON  LOWER  TERRACE  ....  56 

BANNER  WITH  ARMS  OF  THE  STATE  57 
BOAT-HOUSE     SOUTHAVEST    END     or 

LAKE 58 

BOVT-HOUSE  NEAR  RAMBLE 59 

SWAN  REST  ON  LAKE 60 


BOAT  ROUSE  NEAR  OAK  BRIDGK.  Page  61 

Bow  BRIDGE  FROM  LAKE 62 

VIEW  OF  LAKE,  LOOKING   SOUTH.  .  .  G3 

Bow  BRIDGE  FROM  BEACH 65 

LAKE  VIEW.  C6 


LADIES'  SKATING  POND . .  69 

CURLING  70 

BALCONY  BRIDGE 71 

BALCONY  BRIDGE  FROM  THE  BEAUI  72 

THE  TIGRESS 7-t 

BUST  OF  SCHILLER  76 

STATUE  OF  COMMERCE 78 

BIRD-CAGE 82 

DRINKING  FOUNTAIN 83 

THE  CASINO  FROM  THE  EAST.  88 

"VlN'ERY  NEAR  CASINO  OVERLOOKING 

THE  MALL 89 

SUMMER-HOUSE  NEAR  HAMILTON 

SQUARE.. 90 

OAKS  NEAR  ARSENAI 91 

SUMMER-HOUSE  SOUTHEAST  OF  THE 

CASINO 92 

WESTERN  HALF  OF  TERRACE  FROM 

THE  Music  STAND 97 

SKATING  WEST  OF  Bow  BRIDGE.  ...  98 

THE  DOVECOTE .  100 

OAKS  NEAR  SEVENTY  NINTH  STREET 

ENTRANCE..  .                 102 


LIST     OF     ILLUSTRATIONS 


MOWING  LAWN  NEAR  SEVENTY-NINTH 

STREET Page  103 

TERRACE  FROM  ROCK  IN  RAMBLE...  105 

NOOK  IN  RAMBLE. 108 

RUSTIC  BRIDGE  IN  RAMBLE.  .......  109 

FALL  IN  RAMBLE 110 

RUSTIC  BRIDGE Ill 

RUSTIC  SUMMFR-HOCSE  IN  RAMBLE.  112 

NOOK  IN  RAMBLE 1 14 

ENTRANCE  TO  CAVE 115 

C-YVE  FROM  LAKE 116 

INTERIOR  OF  CAVE 117 

ARM  OF  LAKE  FROM  CAVE 118 

Ilusnc  STONE  ARCH  IN  RAMBLE  ...  119 
RUSTIC  STONE  ARCH  IN  RAMBLE — 

ANOTHER  VIK\V 120 

LAKE  FROM  TOP  OF  STONE  ARCH...  121 

THE  BM.VEOERE 122 

VIEW  FROM  BELVEDERE,  LOOKING 

SOUTH... 124 

VIEW  FROM  BELVEDERE,  LOOKING 

SOUTHEAST 125 

SUMMER-H(Jt  SE  IN  RAMBLE,  NEAR  THE 

BELVEDERE 126 

SUMMEK-HOUSE  NEAR  ARTISTS*  GATE.  128 

RAMBLE 129 

INTERIOR  OF  MARBLE  ARCH ]36 

BRIDGE  OF  RED  AND  YELLOW  BRICK 

XEAR  THE  SEVENTH  AVENUE...  138 

SPRING  NEAR  EIGHTH  AVENUE.*...  139 

BEE-HIVE  IN  RAMBLE 141 

BIRD-HOUSE  IN  RAMBLE  142 

LAWN  IN  RAMBLE,  WITH  PEA  FOWL.  144 
LAWN  IN  RAMBLE,  WITH  GUINEA 

FOWL 147 

FREDERICK  LAW  OLMSTED 148 

CALVERT  VAUX /.  149 

POND  NEAR  THE  SCHOLARS'  GATE  ..  158 
MUSEUM  AND  RESTAURANT  FROM 

HARLEM   MEER.  .  168 


HARLEM  MEER Page  HO 

HARLEM  MEER  AND  OLD  FORTIFICA- 
TIONS, WITH  RESTAURANT 171 

BLOCK-HOUSE — WAR  1812 173 

VIEW  NEAR  BLOCK-HOUSE,   LOOKING 

EAST 174 

ROCKY  BRIDGE  IN  RAVINE 176 

CASCADE  ABOVE  THE  ROCKY  ARCH- 
WAY  177 

CASCADE  AT  HEAD  OP  LOCH 178 

BRIDGE  OVER  THE  CASCADE 179 

SARRINA'S  POOL  NEAR  THE  RAVINE.    180 
ARCH    OVER   FOOT-PATH    NEAR    RA- 
VINE     182 

BRIDGE    FOR  CARRIAGE    ROAD   OVER 

RAVINE 183 

RUSTIC    BRIDGE    AND    CASCADE     IN 

RAVINE 185 

THE  POOL 186 

ON  THE  POOL,  LOOKING  NORTHWEST.    187 

OLD  HOUSE   BY  RESERVOIR 188 

SLEIGHING  BY  THE  WILLOWS 189 

BALCONY  BRIDGE,  WEST  SIDE 190 

RUSTIC     BRIDGE,     NEAR      BALCONY 

BRIDGE,  LOOKING  WEST 191 

RUSTIC      BRIDGE,     NEAR      BALCONY 

BRIDGE.  LOOKING  EAST 192 

OAK  BRIDGE 193 

OAK   BRIDGE,  SECOND  VIEW 194 

THE  SHEPHERD 195 

PLAT-GHOUND ]  96 

VIEW   NEAR    BOYS'    GATE,  LOOKING 

WEST 198 

VIEW  NEAR  THE  POND,  FIFTY-NINTH 

STREET 203 

CHILDREN'S  SHELTER,  SOUTHWEST  OF 
MALL.  FROM  LOWER  LAKE,  LOOK- 
ING EAST 205 

THE  OVAL  BRIDGE  NEAR  SEVENTH 
AVENUE .  206 


PLAN   OF 
THE    CENTRAL   PARK. 


\ 


PLAN    OF  THE    PARK. 


THE  SOUTH  END. 


THE    NORTH    K  N  D 


I  ! I  L 


PLAN  OF  THE  PAUK. 


NOTE.— The  top  of  the   plan  on  the    preceding    left-hand    page 
connects  with  the  foot  of  the  right  hand  page. 


THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


A    GLANCE    AT    ITS    HISTORY. 

THIRTY  or  forty  years  ago,  New  York  City  must  have  had  an 
almost  rural  aspect.  This  is  especially  true  of  what  was  then  the 
upper  part, — the  region  which  lies  between  Canal  Street  and  Prince 
Street ; — but  it  will  also  apply  to  the  extreme  southern  portion,  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Battery  and  Bowling-Green.  For,  even  so  late 
as  1840,  the  Battery  Avas  still  a  pleasant  place,  with  grass  and  trees, 
and  surrounded  by  a  semicircle  of  handsome  private  houses,  no  longer 
lived  in  by  fashionable  people,  perhaps,  but  rather  by  good,  substan- 
tial folk  who  had  resided  in  that  neighborhood  when  it  was  in  the 

O 

highest  fashion,  and  were  loath  to  quit  what  was  still  a  highly  respect- 
able quarter.  No  shops  nor  business  hoiises  had  as  yet  intruded 
their  unwelcome  presence,  but  it  was  not  long  after  the  date  we  have 
mentioned,  that  the  fii'st  symptoms  of  change  began  to  appear  in  the 
transformation  of  one  or  two  of  the  larger  dwellings  into  boarding- 
houses  of  the  better  sort ;  and  the  neighborhood  soon  lost  entirely 
its  domestic  character,  and  was  abandoned  to  hotels,  warehouses, 
and  offices.  Of  course,  in  this  change,  the  Battery  and  the  Bowling- 
Green  suffered  equally  with  the  houses.  People  gradually  deserted 
them.  The  Battery,  especially,  which  had  once  been  the  principal 
lounging  place  and  promenade  of  fashionable  New  York,  was 
abandoned  for  Broadway. 

In  the  earlier  period,  before  these  changes  began  to  take  place, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  city  did  not  want  for  places  of  reci'eation. 
The  city  proper  covered  but  a  small  portion  of  the  island,  the  line 


IQ  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  the  prescMit  Canal  Street  marking  the  northern  boundary,  and 
beyond  this  were  large  farms  stretching  up  toward  Harlem.  To 
those  who  lived  in  the  eity  itself,  and  who  were  not  able  to  indulge 
in  the  luxury  of  a  horse  and  chaise,  the  Battery  and  the  Bowling- 
Green  were  sufficiently  pleasant  summer  resorts,  surrounded  as  they 
were  by  the  residences  of  the  gentry ;  but  a  walk  in  the  fields  was 
always  easy  to  get ;  even  Pearl  Street  and  Maiden  Lane  were  cheerful 
strolling-places ;  the  boys  skated  on  the  canal,  or  swam  in  it,  or 
made  expeditions  for  nuts  and  apples  to  the  large  outlying  farms. 

Later,  as  the  city  grew,  and  the  open  country  above  the  canal 
was  invaded  by  houses  and  traversed  by  rudimentary  streets,  while, 
at  the  opposite  end,  the  Battery  and  Bowling-Green  began  to 
yield  a  little  to  the  demand  of  business  men  for  room,  there  sprang 
up  here  and  there  public  gardens,  quiet  places  for  refreshment  and 
recreation;  while  open  squares,  such  as  the  City  Hall  Park  and  St. 
John's  Park,  were  laid  out  and  planted  with  grass,  and  shrubbery, 
and  trees — the  one  for  public  use,  the  other  for  a  private  playground 
and  promenade.  But  even  so  late  as  1825  the  city  was  so  sparsely 
built  and  town-gardens  were  so  numerous — many  of  the  houses  being 
of  wood,  and  standing  detached,  surrounded  with  shrubbery  and 
trees — that  parks  or  squares  must  have  seemed  unnecessary,  for 
pleasant  walks  and  strolls  could  be  had  in  almost  any  quarter,  and 
the  upper  part  of  the  island  abounded  in  delightful  drives.  There 
were  also  public  gardens  in  plenty,  both  in  the  city  itself  and  in 
the  surrounding  country,  and  the  people  were  of  that  social,  lively 
turn  that  they  loved  to  frequent  such  places.  Later,  more  formal 
gardens  sprang  up  in  the  city,  not,  properly  speaking,  gardens  at  all, 
but  mere  open-air  inclosures  where  people  went  to  cat  cakes  and 
ices,  the  boys  and  girls  to  meet  one  another,  and  the  elders  to  talk 
gossip  and  politics,  and  to  discuss  the  scandal  of  the  hour.  Such 
gardens  were  "  Yauxhall,"  in  the  -Bowery,  near  Eighth  Street ;  the 
"  Bowery,"  so  called  from  its  beautiful  over-arching  trees,  the  prettiest 
part  of  the  lower  island;  and  "Contorts,"  a  name  that  still  thrills 
matronly  bosoms,  with  a  sigh  for  its  remembered  delights.  "  Niblo's" 
came  later ;  we,  ourselves,  remember  when  it  was  really  a  garden,  and 
occupied  nearly  the  whole  block  of  which  it  is  now  but  an  insignifi- 
cant fragment.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Twenty-first  Street  and 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK.  H 

Broadway  there  lived  at  this  time  a  good  many  English  people, 
nearly  all  of  them  well-to-do  merchants,  having  large  gardens  about 
their  houses.  These  gentlemen  were  fond  of  flowers,  and  the  tulip  was 
a  hobby  with  many  of  them.  Every  spring  the  splendor  of  these 
tulip-beds  in  full  bloom  would  draw  great  numbers  of  people  from  the 
city  to  see  them.  In  order  to  protect  the  flowers  from  the  sun,  they 
were  shielded  by  large  light  awnings  of  cotton  ;  and  it  must  have 
been  a  pretty  sight — the  gay  beds  of  brilliant,  many-colored  flowers, 
and  the  cheerful,  chatting  people  walking  about,  discussing  the  merits 
of  the  several  gardens  under  the  bright  spring  sky. 

The  change  that  deprived  New  York  of  this  rural  character  came  not 
by  slow  and  easily  traced  degrees,  but  suddenly.  There  arc  hundreds 
of  people  living  who  remember  when  the  tide  turned,  and  the  city  grew 
from  a  small  town,  almost  in  a  night,  like  Jonah's  gourd,  to  be  the  great 
metropolis  it  is  to-day.  The  change  came  too  suddenly  for  the  city's 
good.  It  was  not  growth,  it  was  revolution,  and  provision  had  to  be 
made  so  speedily  for  the  population  that  began  to  pour  in  about  1830, 
and  which  has  continued  to  pour  in  steadily  and  with  hardly  any 
intermission  from  that  day  to  this,  that  many  things  had  to  be  done 
carelessly,  many  irretrievable  blunders  were  committed,  and  oppor- 
tunities lost  that  will  never  present  themselves  again.  It  was  not 
long  before  people  began  to  feel  the  change  from  the  sparsely  built 
city,  with  its  open  lots,  its  water-courses  and  gardens,  to  the  nar- 
rowing streets,  the  long  blocks  of  closely  packed  houses,  and  the 
small  back-yards,  where,  at  the  best,  a  grape-vine  and  a  pocket- 
handkerchief  of  grass  could  make  out  to  grow.  Old  New  Yorkers 
felt  stifled,  and  young  New  York  felt  the  need  of  play-ground,  and 
of  some  substitute  for  the  free  life  of  the  old  days  and  of  the  active 
out-door  employments  it  had  so  lately  been  able  to  enjoy. 

After  all,  the  city  was  not  so  badly  off  as  might  have  been  feared. 
There  was  Iloboken  for  a  delightful  walk  or  for  active  games,  ball- 
playing,  boating,  bowling,  and  quoits.  Staten  Island,  too,  which, 
thirty  years  ago,  was  nearly  covered  with  fine  woods,  and  which  is 
still  one  of  the  richest  fields  for  the  botanist  that  can  be  found  within 
any  reasonable  distance  of  New  York,  was  becoming  a  favorite  resort  for 
pic-nic  parties  and  for  boys  on  Saturday  afternoons.  Then  there  was 
the  Bloomingdale  Road,  the  delight  of  equestrians,  for  as  yet  it  had 


12  HISTORY    OF    THE 

not  passed  exclusively  into  the  hands  of  rowdies  and  the  horse-racing 
gentry  ;  Avhile  now  that  large  and  handsome  steamboats  were  making 
the  journey  to  Albany  both  swift  and  sure,  the  beauties  of  the  Hud- 
son River  were  gradually  discovered,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
already  crowded  city  learned  Avhat  a  treasure  of  romantic  scenery  lay 
within  easy  reach. 

The  growth  of  the  city  was  almost  without  precedent  for  sudden- 
ness, and  the  demand  for  building-ground  became  so  great  that  it 
was  with  difficulty  even  the  public  squares,  reserved  for  air  and 
recreation,  could  be  preserved  inviolate.  But  building  was  the  rage, 
and  beside,  it  was  the  necessity  of  the  time,  and  every  new  building 
meant  so  much  less  air,  so  much  less  light,  so  much  less  room  for  play, 
for  rest,  for  ceremonial  display.  The  Battery  remained  for  some  time 
longer  a  cheerful  spot,  green  with  grass  and  trees,  and  with  a  pros- 
pect such  as  could  not  easily  be  surpassed  anywhere  for  variety  and 
beauty.  But  no  one  now  went  to  it  for  pleasure.  Occasionally  a 
military  review  would  take  place  there,  or  the  city  officials  would 
receive  there  some  distinguished  foreign  visitor,  but  the  more 
respectable  citizens  and  the  fashionable  would  either  forego  the  cere- 
mony and  display  altogether,  or  wait  until  the  procession  which 
usually  terminated  such  affiiirs  found  its  way  into  their  cleaner  and 
more  elegant  neighborhood.*  The  park,  too,  was  gradually  scrimped 
of  its  fair  proportions,  its  lower  end  taken  up  by  a  fountain  basin,  out 
of  all  proportion  to  the  space  it  occupies,  and  the  upper  part  crowded 
with  public  offices,  while  the  placards  ordering  people  to  keep  off  the 
grass  became  a  standing  joke,  for,  little  by  little,  the  grass  had  dis- 
appeared, the  posts  that  supported  the  guarding-chains  had  rotted 
and  been  stolen,  and  the  trees  that  had  once  adorned  it  seemed  to 

*  Yet,  what  a  truly  noble  entrance  to  New  York  City,  the  Battery  might  still  be 
made  !  In  proper  hands,  Castle  Garden  might  be  transformed,  and  that  at  no 
extravagant  expense,  into  a  stately  water-gate  with  an  ample  wharf  of  stone  to  which 
a  steamer  or  a  man-of-war  could  bring  whatever  honorable  company  might  be  the  city's 
guest,  and  after  due  ceremonial  reception  within  the  inelosure,  the  procession  of 
soldier}-,  officials,  and  citizens,  would  have  free  room  to  form  on  the  broad  esplanade  of 
the  Battery  itself,  no  longer  the  squalid  sleeping-place  of  beggars,  and  loungingr-place  of 
drones  that  it  is  now  ;  but  bright  with  flowers,  and  over-a-chcd  with  trees,  well  paved, 
well  fenced ;  as  bright  and  sunny  a  spot,  and  with  as  noble  an  outlook  as  cou'd  be  found 
in  the  world.  New  York  owes  it  to  herself  to  have  such  an  entrance ;  at  present  the 
only  access  to  her  is  through  unutterably  tiltliy  ways. 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK.  13 

have  no  desire  to  outlive  the  decay  of  a  spot  which  had  once  been  the 
city's  pride. 

Retreat  from  the  city  for  those  who  longed  for  a  few  hours'  rest,  for 
a  breath  .pf  the  open  air,  or  for  a  sight  of  the  sky,  was  cut  off  on  nearly 
every  side.  Staten  Island  and  Coney  Island  were  too  far  away ; 
Iloboken  was  no  longer  pleasant  nor  reputable ;  it  had  ceased  to  be 
a  place  of  resort  for  those  who  sought  a  quiet  stroll,  with  an  ice  or 
coifee  under  the  trees  of  the  Elysian  Fields,  and  it  had  not  yet 
attained  to  the  dignity  of  a  suburb.  For  several  years  the  people 
of  New  York  had  seemed  to  be  growing  into  a  settled  submission 
to  this  state  of  things — one,  we  may  almost  say,  without  precedent, 
for  there  is  hardly  another  great  city  in  the  world  that  does  not  con- 
tain, either  within  its  own  boundaries  or  in  its  suburbs,  the  means  of 
gratifying  the  desire  of  its  inhabitants  for  an  occasional  escape  from 
the  confinement  of  city  walls,  and  the  hurry  and  bustle  of  the  city 
streets.  To  tell  the  truth,  New  York,  admirably  placed  as  it  is  for 
commercial  purposes,  is  far  from  being  a  convenient  place  to  live  in; 
to  use  an  Irish  bull,  its  centre  is  not  in  the  middle,  but  at  one  end, 
and  the  time  consumed  in  getting  from  home  to  business  or  pleasure 
is  a  great  drawback  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  many  material  comforts 
which  the  city  offers  her  citizens. 

But  the  shape  of  a  city,  like  the  shape  of  a  man's  head,  although 
it  may  stand  greatly  in  the  way  of  its  improvement,  and  be  much  to 
be  regretted,  is  a  thing  not  to  be  altered,  and  the  only  matter  to  be 
considered  is,  how  to  make  the  best  of  it.  And  about  the  year  1848 
the  people  of  New  York  began  to  find  that  something  must  be  done 
to  supply  the  want,  getting  to  be  felt  every  day  more  and  more,  of 
space  to  walk  abroad  and  recreate  themselves.  There  was  no  place 
within  the  city  limits  in  which  it  was  pleasant  to  walk,  or  ride,  or 
drive,  or  stroll ;  no  place  for  skating,  no  water  in  which  it  was  safe  to 
row ;  no  field  for  base-ball  or  cricket ;  no  pleasant  garden  where  one 
could  sit  and  chat  with  a  friend,  or  watch  his  children  play,  or,  over 
a  cup  of  tea  or  coffee,  listen  to  the  music  of  a  good  band.  Theatres, 
concerts,  and  lectures  were  the  only  amusements  within  reach  of  the 
mass  of  the  people  ;  the  side-walks,  the  balconies,  the  back-yards,  the 
only  substitutes  for  the  Hyde  Park  or  Tuileries  of  the  Old  World,  or 
the  ancient  freedom  and  rural  beauty  of  Young  New  York. 


14  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  public  was  discontented,  but  it  had  no  means  of  giving  ex- 
pression to  its  feeling.  The  rich  people,  when  they  could  not  endure 
their  ennui  any  longer,  took  ship,  and  went  and  walked  in  the  Tuil- 
eries,  or  drove  with  the  other  nabobs  iu  Hyde  Park,  or  drank  coffee 
under  the  lindens  of  Berlin,  and  came  home  when  they  felt  like  it.  Or, 
if  they  did  not  share  the  common  taste  of  American  rich  people  for 
expatriation,  they  left  the  city  and  went  "  up  the  river,"  where  they 
built  ugly  houses,  costing  fabulous  sums,  and  tormented  mother  Earth 
with  landscape  gardening,  tasteless  enough  to  keep  the  houses  in  coun- 
tenance, or  threw  their  money  away  in  gentlemanly  farming.  As  for 
the  people  with  small  incomes,  and  the  salaried  class,  they  had  to 
make  up  their  minds,  since  the  mountains  would  not  come  to  them,  to 
go  ouce  a  year,  for  a  week  or  two,  to  the  mountains.  It  was  then 
that  the  traditions  of  Saratoga  and  Newport  were  formed,  and  the 
city  was  nearly  deserted  in  the  summer  by  large  numbers  of  the  in- 
habitants. No  person,  who  aspired  to  any  rank  in  the  fashionable 
world,  was  ever  known  to  be  in  the  city  in  July  or  August,  and  "not 
at  home,"  if  it  did  not  mean  "  iu  Europe,"  meant  "  at  a  fashionable 
watering-place."  Now,  too,  the  suburban  region  about  New  York 
began  to  be  invaded  by  a  large  class  that  found  city-life  expensive 
out  of  all  proportion  to  its  health,  comfort,  and  opportunities  for  en- 
joyment, as  well  as  by  those,  chiefly  industrious  mechanics,  who 
found  it  impossible  to  lay  up  money  while  obliged  to  pay  such  rents 
as  were  coining  to  be  demanded,  or,  indeed,  to  live  with  decency  in 
the  only  houses  that  were  to  be  obtained  for  rents  that,  in  Europe,  arc 
asked  for  comfortable,  nay,  luxurious,  rooms.  The  discomfort  was 
widely  felt,  and  it  was  to  be  expected  that  somebody  would  discover 
that  he  had  a  inissiou  to  put  an  end  to  it,  or  to  spur  other  people  to 
do  so.  And  in  1848,  Mr.  A.  J.  Downing,  iu  an  article  called  "  A 
Talk  about  Public  Parks  and  Gardens,"  published  in  the  Horticultur- 
ist, a  journal  which  he  edited  at  the  time,  gave  the  first  expression  to 
the  want,  which  everybody  at  that  time  felt,  of  a  great  Public  Park. 

In  a  characteristic  way,  the  Americans  of  the  North  had  already 
attempted  to  provide  places  for  public  exercise,  not  to  say  amuse- 
ment, by  the  establishment  of  great  cemeteries  in  the  vicinities  of 
the  larger  cities.  In  1831,  Mt.  Auburn,  near  Boston,  was  consecrated, 
and  the  example  set  in  the  laying-out  and  in  the  adornment  of  that 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  15 

beautiful  place  was  soon  followed  by  the  people  of  Philadelphia  at 
"Laurel  Hill,"  and  later  by  New  York  at  "Greenwood."  These 
cemeteries  soon  became  famous  over  the  whole  country,  and  thou- 
sands of  people  visited  them  annually.  They  were  among  the  chief 
attractions  of  the  cities  to  which  they  belonged.  No  stranger  visited 
either  of  these  cities  for  pleasure  or  observation  who  was  not  taken 
to  the  cemeteries,  nor  was  it  long  before  the  smaller  cities,  and  even 
towns  and  villages  began  to  set  aside  land  and  to  lay  it  out  for  the 
double  purpose  of  Iniry  ing-ground  and  pleasure-ground.  In  1848, 
when  Mr.  Downing  wrote  the  "  Talk  about  Public  Parks  and  Gar- 
dens "  which  we  have  mentioned,  these  cemeteries  were  all  the  rage, 
and  so  deeply  was  the  want  felt  which  they  supplied,  and  so  truly 
beautiful  were  they  in  themselves,  that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if 
people  were  slow  to  perceive  that  there  was  a  certain  incongruity  be- 
tween a  graveyard  and  a  place  of  recreation.  The  truth  is,  people 
were  glad  to  get  fresh  air,  and  a  sight  of  grass,  and  trees,  and 
flowers,  with,  now  and  then,  a  pretty  piece  of  sculpture,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  drive  to  all  this  beauty,  and  back  again,  without  con- 
sidering too  deeply  whether  it  might  not  be  better  to  have  it  all 
without  the  graves,  and  the  funeral  processions.  Of  course,  at  first, 
the  sadder  pin-pose  of  these  places  was  not  so  conspicuous  as  it  soon 
became.  For  several  years  after  they  were  first  laid  out  they  were  in 
reality  parks  and  pleasure-grounds,  with,  here  and  there,  a  monument 
or  tombstone  half  seen  among  the  trees.  But  this  could  not  last  for 
long.  The  dead  increase  as  the  living  do — 

"  Every  minute  dies  a  man, 
Every  minute  one  is  born," 

and  soon  the  small  white  tents  grew  thick  along  the  paths  and  lanes, 
and  the  statelier  houses  of  the  rich  and  notable  dead  rose  shining  in 
the  more  conspicuous  places,  and  the  dark  line  of  hearse  and  carriages 
was  met  at  every  turn,  so  that  it  was  not  easy  even  for  the  lightest 
hearted  or  the  most  indifferent  to  get  much  cheer  out  of  a  landscape; 
set  so  thick  with  sad  suggestions.  And  then  the  tide  turned,  and 
fashion  and  pleasure  looked  about  for  a  garden  where  death  was  not 
so  frequent  a  visitor. 

In  July,  1849,  Mr.  Downing  published  in  the   "  Horticulturist "  an 
essay  on   "Public  Cemeteries  and  Public  Gardens,"  which  is  mainly 


16  HISTORY    OF    THE 

an  enlargement  of  a  paragraph  in  the  "  Talk  about  Public  Parks  and 
Gardens,"  and  the  object  of  which  was  to  convince  the  public  that  a 
large  public  park  in  the  vicinity  of  any  one  of  the  great  Atlantic 
cities  would  not  only  be  a  great  luxury,  but  a  great  material  benefit 
to  the  inhabitants,  and  that  it  would  pay  its  own  expenses  beside. 
"That  such  a  project,  carefully  planned  and  liberally  and  judiciously 
carried  out  would  not  only  pay  in  money,  but  largely  civilize  and 
refine  the  national  character,  foster  the  love  of  rural  beauty,  and  in- 
crease the  knowledge  of,  and  taste  for,  rare  and  beautiful  trees  and 
plants,  we  cannot  entertain  a  reasonable  doubt.  It  is  only  necessary 
for  one  of  the  three  cities  which  first  opened  cemeteries  to  set  the 
example,  and,  the  thing  once  fairly  seen,  it  becomes  universal.  The 
true  policy  of  republics  is  to  foster  the  taste  for  great  public  libraries, 
parks,  and  gardens,  which  all  may  enjoy,  since  our  institutions  wisely 
forbid  the  growth  of  private  fortunes  sufficient  to  achieve  these  de- 
sirable results  in  any  other  way." 

In  1850  Mr.  Downing  took  a  summer  trip  to  England,  leaving  home 
in  June  and  returning  in  October.  He  went,  not  merely  for  pleasure, 
but  to  see  what  had  been  done  and  what  wras  then  being  done  in  the 
old  world  in  architecture  and  landscape-gardening,  that  he  might 
gather  hints  and  suggestions  for  improvement  in  those  ai'ts  among 
his  countrymen  at  home.  Naturally  enough,  he  was  more  taken  with 
the  English  exploits  in  landscape-gardening — with  the  Chatsworths 
and  Woburn  Abbeys — than  with  the  modern  architecture.  But, 
greatly  as  he  admired  the  splendid  country-seats  of  the  hereditary 
nobility  of  England,  he  perceived  that  the  great  wealth  it  required  to 
support  these  enormous  establishments  raised  these  houses  and 
grounds  so  far  above  ours  that  they  are  not  directly  or  practically 
instructive  to  Americans.  More  interesting  to  him  were  the  great 
public  parks.  In  September,  1850,  he  wrote  to  the  "Horticulturist" 
a  letter  from  England  on  the  London  parks,  in  which,  after  a  charm- 
ingly vivid  description  of  those  remarkable  places,  he  concludes  as 
follows  :  "  We  fancy,  not  without  reason,  in  New  York,  that  we  have 
a  great  city,  and  that  the  introduction  of  Croton  water  is  so  marvel- 
lous a  luxury  in  the  way  of  health,  that  nothing  more  need  be  done 
for  the  comfort  of  half  a  million  of  people.  In  crossing  the  Atlantic, 
a  young  New  Yorker  who  was  rabidly  patriotic,  and  who  boasted 


NEW    YORK.    CENTRAL    P  ARK.  17 

daily  of  the  superiority  of  our  beloved  commercial  metropolis  over 
every  city  on  the  globe,  was  our  most  amusing  companion.  I  chanced 
to  meet  him  one  afternoon,  a  few  days  after  we  landed,  in  one  of  the 
great  parks  in  London,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  sylvan  beauty  and 
human  enjoyment  I  have  attempted  to  describe  to  you.  He  threw 
up  his  arms  as  he  recognized  me,  and  exclaimed  :  'Good  heavens! 
what  a  scene  !  and  I  took  some  Londoners  to  the  steps  of  the  City 
Hall  last  summer,  to  show  them  the  Park  of  New  York  !'  I  consoled 
him  with  the  advice  to  be  less  conceited  thereafter  in  his  cockneyism, 
and  to  show  foreigners  the  Hudson  and  Niagara,  instead  of  the  City 
Hall  and  Bowling-Green.  But  the  question  may  well  be  asked,  '  Is 
New  York  really  not  rich  enough,  or  is  there  absolutely  not  land 
enough  in  America,  to  give  our  citizens  public  parks  of  more  than  ten 
acres  ?' " 

By  this  time,  indeed,  the  question  was  getting  quite  generally 
asked.  In  all  societies  there  -was  a  demand  for  a  place  within  the 
city  limits,  where  people  could  walk,  and  drive,  and  ride,  and  skate, 
and  row ;  where  base-ball  and  cricket  could  be  played,  and  all  classes 
of  the  community  find  rest  and  recreation.  We  can  imagine  Down- 
ing's  young  cockney  returning  to  New  York,  and  telling  his  little 
circle  at  home  of  the  astonishment  and  mortification  he  had  felt  on 
comparing  the  generous  provision  which  the  government  of  a 
monarchy  had  made  for  the  enjoyment  of  its  subjects,  with  the 
wretched  way  in  which  the  free  citizens  of  a  great  republic  had 
stinted  themselves.  Every  intelligent  New  Yorker  that  went  abroad 
must  have  made  the  same  comparison,  and  must  have  given  expression 
to  the  same  astonishment  and  mortification.  And  now  that  this  wide- 
spread public  feeling  had  found  a  voice  in  Mr.  Downing,  there  needed 
nothing  but  that  some  person  in  authority,  mayor,  governor,  or  legis- 
lator, should  recommend  that  the  public  need  be  provided  for,  to 
secure  that  something  effectual  should  be  done.  And  accordingly, 
in  1851,  Mr.  A.  C.  Kingsland,  who  was  then  Mayor  of  New  York, 
sent  a  Message  to  the  Common  Council,  in  which  the  whole  question 
was  stated  so  clearly  and  succinctly,  and  the  necessity  for  prompt 
and  efficient  action  was  so  forcibly  urged,  that  there  is  no  wonder  it 
took  hold  of  the  public  attention,  and  became  the  leading  topic  of  dis- 
cussion in  social  circles  and  in  the  newspapers.  As  this  Message  is 


18  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  importance  in  the  history  of  the  Central  Park,  and  as  it  is  buried 
in  the  not  often  explored  storehouse  of  official  documents  of  the  city 
government,  the  reader  will  perhaps  not  think  it  out  of  place  in  a 
foot-note.* 

The  Message  of  Mayor  Kingsland  was  sent  to  the  Common  Council 
on  the  fifth  day  of  April,  1851,  and  was  at  once  referred  to  the  Coin- 

*  To  the  Honorable  the  Common  Council: — 

GENTLEMEN — The  rapid  augmentation  of  our  population,  and  the  great  increase 
in  the  value  of  property  iu  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  justify  me  in  calling  the  atten- 
tion of  your  honorable  body  to  the  necessity  of  making  some  suitable  provision  for  the 
wants  of  our  citizens,  who  ar-j  thronging  into  the  upper  wards  which,  but  a  few 
years  since,  were  considered  us  entirely  out  of  the  city.  It  seems  obvious  to  me  that 
the  entire  tongue  of  land  south  of  the  line  drawn  across  the  Park  is  destined  to  be 
devoted,  entirely  and  solely,  to  commercial  purposes  ;  and  the  Park  and  Battery,  which 
were  formerly  favorite  places  of  resort  for  pleasure  and  recreation  for  citizens  whose 
residences  were  below  that  line,  are  now  deserted.  The  tide  of  population  is  rapidly 
flowing  to  the  northern  section  of  the  island,  and  it  is  here  that  provision  should  be 
made  for  the  thousands  whose  dwellings  will,  ere  long,  fill  up  the  vacant  streets  and 
avenues  north  of  Union  Park. 

The  public  places  of  New  York  arc  not  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  our  city; 
nor  do  they  in  any  wise  subserve  the  purpose  for  which  such  places  should  be  set  apart. 
Each  year  will  witness  a  certain  increase  in  the  value  of  real  estate,  out  of  the  city 
proper,  and  I  do  not  know  that  any  period  will  be  more  suitable  than  the  present  one 
for  the  purchase  and  laying  out  of  a  park  on  a  scale  which  will  be  worthy  of  the  city. 

There  are  places  on  the  island  easily  accessible,  and  possessing  all  the  advantages 
of  wood,  lawn,  and  water,  which  might,  at  a  comparatively  small  expense,  be  con- 
verted into  a  park  which  would  be  at  once  the  pride  and  ornament  of  the  city. 
Such  a  park,  well  laid  out,  would  become  the  favorite  resort  of  all  classes.  There  are 
thousands  who  pass  the  day  of  rest  among  the  idle  and  di  -solute,  in  porter-houses  or 
in  places  more  objectionable,  who  would  rejoice  in  being  enabled  to  breathe  the  pure 
air  in  such  a  place,  while  the  ride  and  drive  through  its  avenues,  free  from  the  noise, 
dust,  and  confusion  inseparable  from  all  thoroughfares,  would  hold  out  strong  induce- 
ments for  the  affluent  to  make  it  a  place  of  resort. 

There  is  no  park  on  the  island  deserving  the  name,  and  while  I  cannot  believe  that 
any  one  can  be  found  to  advance  an  objection  against  the  expediency  of  having  such  a 
one  in  our  midst,  I  think  that  the  expenditure  of  a  sum  necessary  to  procure  and  lay 
out  a  park  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  answer  the  purposes  above  mentioned  would  be 
well  and  wisely  appropriated,  and  would  be  returned  to  us  fourfold  in  the  health,  happi- 
ness, and  comfort  of  those  whose  interests  are  specially  intrusted  to  our  keeping— the 
poorer  classes. 

Tiie  establishment  of  such  a  park  would  prove  a  lasting  monument  to  the  wisdom, 
sagacity,  and  forethought  of  its  founders,  and  would  secure  the  gratitude  of  thousands 
yet  unborn  for  the  blessings  of  pure  air,  and  the  opportunity  for  innocent,  healthful 
enjoyment. 

I  commend  this  subject  to  your  consideration,  iu  the  conviction  that  its  im- 
portance will  insure  your  careful  attention  and  prompt  action. 

A.  C.  KINGST.AND,  Mayor. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  jg 

mittee  on  Lands  and  Places.  This  committee  soon  after  returned  a 
report  favorable  to  the  Mayor's  views,  and  recommending  that  appli- 
cation should  be  made  to  the  Legislature  to  appropriate  that  portion 
of  New  York  Island  known  as  Jones's  Wood  to  the  uses  of  a  public 
park,  this  seeming  to  the  committee  better  adapted  for  the  purpose 
than  any  other  situation. 

Jones's  Wood  is  a  tract  of  undulating  ground  lying  alon^  the 

o     o  •/       o  o 

shore  of  the  East  River,  and  was  at  that  time  for  the  most  part  un- 
occupied by  buildings,  though  here  and  there  were  still  standing  a 
few  of  those  old-fashioned  "mansions,"  as  they  were  somewhat 
grandiloquently  called,  which,  in  former  times,  had  been  the  country- 
seats  of  wealthy  New  York  merchants  retired  from  business,  but 
most  of  which  have  of  late  years  been  abandoned  and  are  fast  going 
to  decay.  The  land  which  it  was  proposed  to  take  for  a  park  ex- 
tended from  the  East  River  to  the  Third  Avenue,  and  from  Sixty- 
sixth  Street,  on  the  south,  to  Seventy-fifth  Street,  on  the  north,  and 
contained  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres.  The  advantages  it 
offered  for  the  purposes  of  a  park  were,  the  irregularity  of  its  surface, 
its  nearness  to  the  East  River,  always  an  animated  scene,  Avith  its 
steamboats,  shipping,  the  islands,  and  the  neighboring  shore;  and 
there  was,  beside,  what,  by  most  people,  was  thought  would  prove  a 
great  gain  in  time  and  expense,  a  thick  growth  of  trees  over  nearly 
the  whole  region. 

The  Legislature,  at  an  extra  session,  held  in  1851,  following  the 
recommendation  of  the  Common  Council,  passed  an  Act,  known  as 
the  Jones's  Wood  Park  Bill,  dated  the  llth  of  July,  authorizing  the 
city,  after  certain  prescribed  estimates,  examinations,  and  formalities 
had  been  gone  through  with,  to  take  possession  of  the  tract  in  ques- 
tion. But  hardly  had  this  Act  been  published  than  there  arose  such 
a  strenuous  opposition  to  the  proposed  site,  that  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men appointed  (August  5th,  1851)  a  special  committee  to  look  into 
the  matter  and  report  upon  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the 
ground  designated  in  the  Act  of  the  Legislature,  and  also  to  examine 
whether  there  were  not  some  locality  within  the  city  limits  better 
suited  to  the  purpose  of  a  public  park.  This  committee,  consisting 
of  Messrs.  Daniel  Dodge  and  Joseph  Britton,  made  a  very  full  report, 
strongly  recommending  a  tract  in  the  centre  of  the  island  for  the 


9()  HISTORY    OF    THE 

site  of  the  Park  in  preference  to  Jones's  Wood,  on  considerations  of 
its  greater  extent  and  convenience  of  access,  its  general  availability, 
and  its  proportionally  far  less  cost.  Among  the  influences  that 
worked  to  secure  the  present  site  to  the  city,  this  able  report  was 
doubtless  one  of  the  strongest.  It  put  the  whole  case  clearly  before 
the  public,  stating  the  argument  at  length,  yet  without  waste  words, 
and  gave  voice  to  a  wide-spread  popular  preference  for  a  more  central 
locality,  which  had  thus  far  found  no  expression  except  through  the 
newspapers.  Its  recommendations  were  adopted  by  the  Board  of 
Aldermen,  and  on  the  report  being  referred  to  the  Legislature,  that 
body  passed  an  Act  on  the  21st  of  July,  1853,*  authorizing  the  city  to 
take  possession  of  the  ground  now  known  as  the  Central  Park. 

The  Act  of  1851,  called  the  Jones's  Wood  Park  Bill,  had  never 
gone  into  effect,  because  the  Supreme  Court,  on  account  of  alleged 
material  errors  in  the  Bill,  had  refused  to  appoint  commissioners  ;  but 
the  owners  of  that  property,  not  willing  to  lose  the  opportunity  of 
selling  their  land  to.  so  good  a  customer  as  the  city,  again  bestirred 
themselves  in  the  matter,  and  to  such  good  purpose,  that  they  actually 
persuaded  the  Legislature  to  stultify  itself  by  passing,  on  the  same 
day,  July  21st,  1853,  two  separate  Acts,  one,  mentioned  above,  au- 
thorizing the  taking  of  land  in  the  centre  of  the  island  for  the  Central 

~  O 

Park,  the  other  giving  authority  to  the  city  to  take  possession  of 
Jones's  Wood.  But  the  opinion  of  the  public  was  too  plainly  in  favor 
of  the  central  site,  and  the  next  year,  April  llth,  1854,  the  Act  rela- 
tive to  Jones's  Wood  was  repealed,  and  no  further  attempt  was  made 
to  revive  it. 

On  the  17th  of  November,  1853,  the  Supreme  Court,  by  Judge 
William  Mitchell,  appointed  five  commissioners  of  estimate  and  as- 
sessment to  take  the  land  for  the  Central  Park.  These  commissioners 
were  William  Kent,  Michael  Ulshoeffer,  Luther  Bradish,  Warren 
Brady,  and  Jeremiah  Towle,  all  gentlemen  well  known  to  the  com- 
munity, and  in  whom  a  wide  confidence  was  felt  that  their  difficult 
task  would  be  performed  with  fairness  and  judgment.  Nor  did  this 
confidence  prove  to  have  been  ill-grounded.  The  commissioners  em- 
ployed nearly  three  years  in  the  work  of  estimating  and  assessing, 
sending  in  their  report  on  the  4th  of  October,  1856,  and,  as  Judge 

*  Misprinted  "July  "  2.3d"  in  First  Annual  Report,  Jan.  1,  1867,  pp.  6  and  7. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  21 

Harris  remarked  in  confirming  their  report,  it  is  an  evidence  of  the 
success  with  which  their  difficult  task  had  been  performed,  that  but 
about  one  in  forty  of  the  owners  of  the  lots  taken  for  the  Park  ap- 
peared before  him  to  object  to  the  award  of  the  commissioners.  Mr. 
Fernando  Wood,  who,  as  the  city  has  reason  to  remember,  was  at 
that  time  Mayor,  took  occasion,  in  a  message  to  the  Common  Council, 
referring  to  another  matter,  to  allude  to  the  length  of  time  the  com- 
missioners were  consuming  in  their  business.  "  The  whole  scope  of 
their  duties  appears  to  me,"  says  this  model  citizen  and  magistrate, 
"  to  be  very  simple,  and  easily  accomplished.  I  do  not  see  why  they 
should  consume  so  much  time."  But  when  it  is  considered  that  the 
commissioners  had  to  hear  and  decide  upon  the  claims  of  the  owners 
of  seven  thousand  five  hundred  lots;  and  that  in  many  of  these  cases 
there  were  involved  the  interests  of  minors  and  orphans,  and  of  per- 
sons who  might  be  seriously  crippled  in  their  resources  by  an  adverse 
decision  (and  Judge  Harris,  in  confirming  their  report,  admits  that, 
although  the  action  of  the  commissioners  was  pre-eminently  judicious 
and  equitable,  yet  there  were  cases  of  individual  hardship) ;  when  we 
consider,,  too,  that,  as  to  most  of  the  lots,  it  was  rather  their  pro- 
spective than  their  present  value  that  had  to  be  estimated,  a  con- 
sideration that  greatly  increased  the  difficulty  of  passing  judgment, 
and  made  the  award  liable  to  much  bitterness  of  suspicion ;  and,  be- 
side this,  if  we  remember  that  it  was  not  only  the  giving  of  money  that 
they  had  to  attend  to,  but  the  taking  it  away,  for  they  had  not  only 
to  appraise  the  value  of  the  lots  absorbed  into  the  Park,  but  to  tax 
those  that  lay  about  it  as  well,  in  view  of  the  advantage  they  were  to 
gain  by  their  nearness  to  it;  when  all  these  things  are  looked  at,  the 
time  consumed  in  untangling  all  these  snarled  and  knotted  skeins  ap- 
pears by  no  means  unreasonably  long.  At  all  events,  the  Supreme 
Court  confirmed  this  report  of  the  commissioners  without  hesitation, 
after  a  careful  examination  had  convinced  it  that  substantial  justice 
had  been  done,  and  on  the  5th  of  February,  1856,  the  Comptroller 
announced  to  the  Common  Council  that,  as  by  the  Act  of  1853  the 
payment  of  the  awards  to  the  owners  of  the  lots,  and  of  the  expenses 
of  the  commissioners  must  be  made  immediately  on  the  confirmation 
of  their  report,  it  had  become  their  duty  to  make  an  appropriation  to 
meet  those  charges.  Accordingly,  an  ordinance  was  passed  for  the 


22  HISTORY    OFTHE 

payment  of  five  million,  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  thousand,  three 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  dollars  and  ninety  cents,  of  which  sum  one 
million,  six  hundred  and  fifty-seven  thousand,  five  hundred  and  ninety 
dollars  were  to  be  paid  by  the  owners  of  lands  adjacent  to  the  Park, 
in  view  of  the  benefit  they  would  receive  from  their  neighborhood 
to  it. 

Thus  the  Central  Park  became  the  possession  of  the  city,  the  great- 
est blessing  that  had  been  bestowed  upon  it  since  the  building  of  the 
great  aqueduct.  Xot  quite  five  years  had  elapsed  since  it  was  first 
proposed  by  Mayor  Kingsland,  and  it  seems  to  us  that,  when  the  diffi- 
culty of  adjusting  so  many  private  claims  and  conflicting  interests  as 
are  involved  in  the  purchase  of  over  seven  thousand  lots  on  the  very 
border  of  a  large  and  rapidly  growing  town  is  considered,  it  cannot 
be  denied  that,  in  the  steady  persistence  Avith  which  it  was  pursued, 
the  enterprise  was  an  exception  to  the  common  fate  of  such  under- 
takings. There  was  an  unusual  unanimity  in  the  public  mind  from 
the  first  as  to  the  need  of  a  large  public  park,  and  even  the  dispute  as 
to  location  did  not  delay  matters  long.  No  doubt,  it  would  have 
been  much  more  difficult  to  secure  so  large  a  tract  of  land  if  it  had 
been  thickly  strewn  with  buildings ;  the  reason  Avhy  the  Jones's 
Wood  party  pushed  their  cause  so  persistently  was,  that  the  private 
interests  at  stake  were  so  much  greater  than  in  the  case  of  the  un- 
occupied lots  of  the  Central  Park,  and  the  owners  of  houses  and  lots 
along  the  East  River  were  much  more  eager  to  have  the  public  pur- 
chase their  property  than  were  those  who  owned  uncleared  and  unim- 
proved land  in  the  middle  of  the  island.  The  public,  however,  was 
quite  as  shrewd  as  they,  and,  in  spite  of  all  their  blandishments,  chose 
the  better  situation.  This  danger  was  easily  escaped,  but,  at  the  very 
last,  while  the  commissioners  appointed  by  the  Supreme  Court  were 
yet  engaged  in  their  labors,  a  vigorous  effort  was  made  by  persons 
owning  land  on  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Central  Park  to  have 
its  dimensions  curtailed  at  that  end  ;  and  so  well  did  they  play  their 
cards,  that  the  Common  Council  was  actually  induced  to  pass  a  reso- 
lution, April  3d,  1854,*  asking  the  Legislature  to  change  the  southern 

*  In  the  First  Annual  Repurt  on  the  Improvement  of  the  Central  Park,  appendix 
M.,  p.  130,  this  date  is  wrongly  printed  1853.  The  Act  which  it  was  proposed  to  amend 
was  not  passed  till  July  21,  1853. 


N  EW  YORK  CENT  HAL  PARK.  23 

line  of  the  Park,  making  it  at  Seventy-second,  instead  of  at  Fifty-ninth 
Street,  and  only  the  emphatic  veto  of  Mayor  Wood  saved  the  public 
from  the  annoyance  and  expense  of  this  further  delay.  Mr.  Wood's 
public  record  is  every  way  so  unhandsome,  that  we  are  glad  to  be 
able  to  give  him  credit  for  at  least  one  creditable  act.  This  threat- 
ened trouble  having  once  blown  over,  there  seems  to  have  been  no 

O  / 

further  opposition,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  purchase  of  the  Park  was 
at  length  completed. 


Mr.  Egbert  L.  Viele,  the  engineer  by  whom  the  land  for  the 
Central  Park  was  first  surveyed,  intimates,  in  his  report  to  the  com- 
missioners (1857),  that  secret  influences  worked  with  the  Legislature 
to  hinder  further  action  in  getting  the  park  improvement  under  way  ; 
and  very  possibly  this  may  have  been  so,  although  it  is  difficult  to 
see  what  malcontents  could  have  hoped  to  do  in  opposition  to  the  de- 
cisive steps  already  taken  by  the  constituted  authorities,  acting  in 
obedience  to  the  clearly  expressed  Avill  of  the  major  part  of  the 
people.  But,  for  some  reason  or  other,  hard  at  this  late  day  to  dis- 
cover, the  Legislature  did  nothing  looking  toward  a  government  for 
the  Park,  and  hence,  on  the  19th  of  May,  1856,  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men adopted  an  ordinance  appointing  the  Mayor  and  the  Street  Com- 
missioner commissioners  with  full  authority  to  govern  the  Park,  to 
determine  upon  a  plan  for  its  improvement,  and  to  appoint  such  per- 
sons as  they  might  see  fit  to  carry  out  their  intentions.  Mr.  Fernando 
Wood  and  Mr.  Joseph  S.  Taylor,  the  then  Street  Commissioner,  thus 
empowered,  entered  at  once  and  with  commendable  spirit  upon  the 
discharge  of  their  duties.  Feeling  that  their  position  was  one  of 
great  responsibility  and  difficulty,  they  determined  to  seek  the  best 
advice  they  could  obtain  from  men  whose  public  and  social  position, 
with  their  reputation  for  taste  and  judgment,  Avould  give  their 
opinions  AV  eight.  They  therefore  invited  Washington  Irving,  George 
Bancroft,  James  E.  Cooley,  Charles  F.  Briggs,  James  Phalon,  Charles 
A.  Dana,  and  Stewart  BroAvn  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  commis- 
sion and  form  a  board  of  consultation  for  the  purpose  of  discussing 
Avhat  course  had  best  be  pursued  in  order  to  secure  a  suitable  design 
for  laying  out  the  Park.  The  first  of  these  meetings  Avas  held  on  the 


24  HISTORY    OF    THE 

29th  of  May,  1856.  Mr.  Irving  was  made  president  of  the  Board, 
and  the  preliminaries  were  settled  for  carrying  out  the  objects  of  the 
commission.  At  subsequent  meetings  various  plans  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  Park  Avere  presented  to  them,  but,  on  the  whole,  little  was 
accomplished  until  the  design  sent  in  by  Mr.  Egbert  L.  Viele,  the 
engineer  of  the  Park,  and  strongly  backed  by  Mayor  Wood,  was 
adopted.  This  seemed  to  be  an  important  point  gained,  but,  fortu- 
nately for  the  city,  it  resulted  in  nothing.  No  money  was  appro- 
priated for  the  use  of  the  commissioners,  and  we  Avere  thus  saved  the 
mortification  of  seeing  all  the  labor  that  had  been  expended  in  secur- 
ing the  Park  thrown  away,  and  all  the  hopes  that  had  been  held  of  its 
beauty  disappointed  by  the  adoption  of  a  commonplace  and  tasteless 
design. 

The  first  annual  report  of  the  engineer  of  the  Central  Park  was 
sent  to  the  commissioners,  January  1st,  1857.  It  forms  Document  No. 
5  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  for  that  year,  and  be- 
side a  history  of  the  Park  up  to  the  time  when  the  report  was  sent  in, 
it  contained  a  lithograph  of  Mr.  Viele's  plan  and  a  full  description  of 
it.  This  plan  would  hardly  be  worth  speaking  of  to-day,  if  there  had 
not  been  at  one  time  a  persistent  effort  made  to  convince  the  public 
that  the  plan  afterward  adopted — the  one  designed  by  Olmsted  and 
Vaux,  Avas  a  plagiarism,  in,  at  least,  two  essential  points,  from  that  of 
Mr.  Viele.  It  is  very  much  to  be  regretted  that  such  a  charge  as  this 
should  ever  haAre  been  permitted  to  be  made  ;  for  Avhile  any  one,  who 
felt  sufficient  interest  in  the  matter,  to  investigate  it,  could  easily  have 
satisfied  himself  that  the  accusation  had  no  foundation  in  fact,  it  was 
by  no  means  easy  for  the  public  to  know  on  which  side  the  right  lay. 
As  the  first  report  of  the  engineer  to  the  then  Commissioners  of  the 
Park  (Messrs.  Wood  and  Taylor)  has  long  been  out  of  print,  we  can- 
not refer  the  reader  to  it  for  an  explanation  of  the  difference  between 
Mr.  Viele's  plan  and  the  one  afterwai'd  adopted.  We  may,  however, 
state,  in  a  feAV  words,  Avhat  were  the  main  features  of  the  design  after 
which  it  was  at  first  proposed  to  lay  out  the  Park,  describing  them 
from  the  official  copy  of  Mr.  Viele's  own  drawing  contained  in  his 
report,  which  is  now  before  us.  To  be  frank,  this  plan,  about  which 
so  much  Avas  at  one  time  written,  is  just  such  a  matter-of-fact,  taste- 
less affair  as  is  always  produced  by  engineers  (begging  pardon  of  the 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  25 

whole  useful  body),  when  they  attempt  any  tiling  in  the  way  of  orna- 
mental design.  No  thought  was  required  to  make  it,  and  no  other 
knowledge  than  a  mere  acquaintance  with  the  topography  of  the 
ground  to  l>e  worked.  There  is  not  a  single  difficulty  overcome,  a 

O  O  •/ 

single  advantage  improved,  a  single  valuable  or  striking  improvement 
suggested.  The  roads  follow  the  natural  levels  as  far  as  possible,  the 
existing  water-courses  are  allowed  to  remain  as  they  are,  except  that 
in  two  or  three  places  the  waters  of  marshy  spots  arc  collected  into 
pools,  and  this,  literally,  is  the  only  appearance  of  any  intention  to  do 
any  thing  for  the  sake  of  beauty  or  picturesqueness.  As  for  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  roads,  nothing  could  be  more  simple,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  nothing  could  be  more  iininteresting.  A  drive,  ninety  feet 
wide,  starts  from  the  corner  of  Fifty-ninth  Street  and  the  Fifth  Ave- 
nue, skirts  the  boundary  of  the  Park,  keeping  as  close  to  it  as  possi- 
ble, cuts  round  the  new  Reservoir  to  the  opposite  side,  and  running 
along  nearly  parallel  with  the  Eighth  Avenue,  leaves  the  Park  at  the 
southwest  corner.  This  drive,  Mr.  Viele  calls,  "  The  Circuit,"  and  it 
is  one  of  the  two  "ideas"  which  his  newspaper  advocates  charged  the 
present  plan  with  having  borrowed  from  him:  we  shall  see  later  with 
how  little  reason.  After  having  followed  the  "  Circuit,"  unless  the 
visitor  then  took  "  The  Glen  Road,"  leading  in  a  nearly  direct  line 
from  a  point  between  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Avenues  to  the  smaller 
Reservoir,  he  would  see  nothing  more  of  the  Park  than  he  might  have 
seen  if  he  had  gone  up  the  Fifth  Avenue,  and  down  the  Eighth.  The 
other  "idea"  which  the  present  plan  was  charged  with  having  bor- 
rowed from  Mr.  Viele,  is  that  of  the  transverse  roads  for  traffic.  Now, 
these  transverse  roads  are  indispensable,  considering  the  situation  of 
the  Park,  and  the  shape  of  the  city.  Take  them  away;  prevent  carts, 
wagons,  omnibuses,  from  crossing  the  Park  anywhere  between  the 
streets  that  bound  it  on  the  north  and  south,  and  you  make  two  sep- 
arate cities,  one  on  either  side.  To  put  transverse  roads  into  the  plan, 
if,  indeed,  they  had  not  been  expressly  called  for  by  the  instructions  of 
the  Commissioners  to  the  competitors,  was  a  natural  notion  enough ; 
it  might  have  occurred  to  anybody.  But  anybody,  one  would  have 
thought,  could  also  have  seen  that  unless  some  way  were  devised,  at 
the  same  time,  of  having,  and  not  having  them :  of  getting  the  good, 
and  avoiding  the  evil  of  them,  the  Park  would  be  seriously  injured. 


26  HISTORY    OF    THE 

No  other  way  occurred  to  Mr.  Viele,  nor,  indeed,  to  any  of  the  com- 
petitors but  the  successful  ones,  but  just  to  lay  transverse  roads  across 
his  plan  on  a  level  with  the  surface  like  all  the  other  roads  in  the 
Park.  It  must  be  plain  at  a  glance  that  this  arrangement  would  have 
destroyed  the  pleasure  of  driving  or  walking  in  the  Park,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  its  want  of  elegance.  As  we  shall  see,  the  authors  of  the  suc- 
cessful plan,  by  a  method  as  simple  as  it  was  ingenious,  secured  ev- 
ery thing  that  Avas  needed  for  the  accommodation  of  traffic,  while,  at 
the  same  time,  they  secured  the  privacy  and  comfort  of  visitors.  Their 
plan  in  no  way  impaired  the  beauty  of  the  Park  nor  interfered  with 
its  utility. 

It  was  soon  found  that  unless  either  the  Legislature  or  the  city 
authorities  took  more  active  measures  for  the  government  and  im- 
provement of  the  Park,  the  enterprise  must  fail  of  being  carried  out 
in  a  creditable  manner;  and,  accordingly,  on  the  17th  of  April,  1857, 
the  Legislature  appointed  a  new  Commission,  consisting  of  eleven 
members,  who  were  to  hold  office  for  five  years,  and  who  were  em- 
powered to  expend  a  sum  of  money  the  interest  of  which  should  not 
exceed  thirty  thousand  dollars.  To  raise  this  money  the  Common 
Council  of  the  city  issued  stock  having  thirty  years  to  run,  which  was 
immediately  taken  up  by  the  public. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  Commission  was,  to  lay  aside  the 
plan  of  Mr.  Yiele,  and  to  advertise  for  new  plans,  to  be  sent  in,  in 
competition.  The  time  at  first  fixed  iipon  up  to  which  plans  could 
be  sent  in  was  the  1st  of  March,  but  it  was  afterwards  extended,  at 
the  request  of  numerous  persons  intending  to  compete,  to  the  1st  of 
April,  at  which  time  thirty-three  plans  had  been  sent  in.  These  plans 
were  placed  in  a  room  on  Broadway  that  had  been  hired  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  from  that  time  until  the  21st  of  April  the  Board  frequently 
held  its  meetings  there,  in  order  to  facilitate  a  careful  examination 
and  thorough  discussion  of  the  merits  of  the  several  plans.  On  the 
21st  of  April  the  Commissioners  met  to  decide  upon  the  choice  of  a 
plan,  and  on  the  first  voting,  No.  33,  bearing  the  motto  "Green- 
sward," was  declared,  by  the  ballots  of  seven  members  out  of  the 
eleven,  to  be  entitled  to  the  first  prize  of  two  thousand  dollars.  The 
other  prizes  were  awarded  with  more  difficulty.  The  roll  had  to  be 
called  four  times  before  it  could  be  decided  which  was  the  second-best 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  27 

design,  entitled  to  a  prize  of  one  thousand  dollars,  and  an  almost  equal 
difficulty  was  met  with  in  fixing  upon  the  competitors  deserving  of 
the  third  and  fourth  pn/es.  Indeed,  the  excellence  of  "  Greensward" 
had  been  easily  seen  to  be  pre-eminent,  from  the  first,  and  yet,  at  one 
time,  it  ran  a  chance  of  being  thrown  out  of  the  competition,  for,  on 
the  very  day  of  decision,  two  of  the  members  of  the  Hoard  endeavored 
to  get  rid  of  it  by  ingenious  stratagems.  One  protested  against  its 
being  even  considered,  on  the  ground  that  in  his  opinion  the  plan  was 
not  received  by  the  Board  on  the  1st  day  of  April,  but  on  the  2d,  and 
too  late  to  entitle  it  to  a  premium  according  to  the  terms  of  the  ad- 
vertisement. This  protest  was  laid  on  the  table,  only  the  mover  and 
one  other  Commissioner  voting  in  favor  of  it.  Then  that  other  Com- 

~ 

missioner  moved  that  there  was  no  plan  entitled  to  the  first  prize,  but 
this,  too,  was  lost.  It  Avas  plain  that  the  majority  had  settled  with 
unanimity  on  this  plan,  and  were  determined  to  give  it  the  prefer- 
ence. And,  indeed,  it  well  deserved  it,  as  the  public  freely  admitted 
Avhen  it  was  exhibited  to  them,  and  as  time  has  since  abundantly 
proved. 

The  authors  of  "  Greensward,"  the  successful  plan,  proved  to  be 
Mr.  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  and  Mr.  Calvert  Vaux :  both  well 
known  and  highly  esteemed  by  a  large  and  cultivated  circle  in  this 
community. 

Mr.  Olmsted,  young  as  he  was,  had  already  a  national  reputation. 
He  is  an  American  of  Americans,  was  long  a  successful  practical  fann- 
er, and  while  still  engaged  in  that  pursuit  had  published  a  remarkable 
little  book,  the  record  of  a  vacation  ramble,  called  "  AValks  and  Talks 
of  an  American  Farmer  in  England."  But  he  had,  since  that  time, 
become  more  widely  known  by  his  letters  to  the  "  Xew  York  Times" 
newspaper,  written  during  a  tour  through  the  Southern  States,  under 
the  signature  of  "  Yeoman,"  and  afterwards  published  in  a  volume— 
"  The  Sea-board  Slave  States."  This  book  contained  the  first  reliable 
account  of  the  condition  of  society  in  the  South,  especially  in  the  re- 
gions away  from  the  great  cities,  that  had,  up  to  that  time,  been  pub- 
lished in  the  North.  It  was  written  in  so  manly,  straightforward  a 
style,  with  such  an  evident  determination  to  the  plain,  unvarnished 
truth,  that  it  carried  conviction  with  it,  and  no  less  won  a. wide  pub- 
lic respect  for  the  character  of  the  writer.  We  speak  of  it  here,  be- 


28       HISTORY    OF    THE    XEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 

cause  the  qualities  that  made  it  were  qualities  that  showed  themselves 
later,  when  Mr.  Olmsted  filled  the  position  of  Superintendent  of  the 
Park,  and  Architect-in-Chief.  The  public  will  never  know  all  that  it 
owes  in  the  possession  of  the  Park  to  Mr.  Olmsted's  vigor ;  to  his 
quiet,  earnest  zeal ;  to  his  integrity,  and  to  the  abundance  of  his  re- 
sources. Few  Americans  in  our  time  have  shown  so  great  adminis- 
trative abilities. 

Mr.  Calvert  Vaux  is  an  Englishman  by  birth  and  training,  who 
came  to  this  country,  and  adopted  it  for  his  permanent  home,  in  1852. 
He  left  England  on  the  invitation  of  Mr.  Downing,  to  whom  he  had 
been  highly  recommended  as  the  person  best  fitted  to  assist  him  in 
his  profession  of  architect  and  landscape-gardener.  He  established 
himself  at  Xewburg,  as  Mr.  Downing's  partner  in  business,  and  on 
the  untimely  deatli  of  that  gentleman  in  1853,  he  succeeded  to  his 
large  and  profitable  clientage.  At  the  time  of  the  acceptance  of  his 
and  Mr.  Olmsted's  design  for  the  Park,  lie  was  already  known  as  a 
skilful  architect,  and  as  the  author  of  a  valuable  work  on  the  subject 
of  Domestic  Architecture.  It  would  hardly  have  been  possible  to  find 
in  our  community  two  men  better  fitted  by  education,  by  experience, 
and  by  a  combination  of  valuable  qualities,  to  carry  out  so  difficult 
and  so  important  an  undertaking  as  that  of  the  Central  Park.  Per- 
haps it  was  not  a  mere  piece  of  good  luck  that  brought  them  together, 
and  that  swayed  the  Commissioners  so  nnanimously  in  favor  of  their 
work,  but  a  sort  of  fate  which  easily  brings  like  to  mate  with  like, 
and  makes  the  fruit  of  such  a  union  its  own  best  praise. 


THE    CENTRAL    PARK. 


THE  authors  of  "Greensward,"  when  they  sent  in  their  plan, 
accompanied  it  with  a  small  printed  pamphlet  explanatory  of  its 
main  features,  and  of  the  general  principles  that  had  guided  them 
in  the  design.  This  pamphlet  has  recently,  after  an  interval  of  ten 
years,  been  reprinted,  and  one  cannot  but  be  struck  in  reading  it 
with  the  evidence  it  gives  of  a  thorough  understanding  on  the  part 
of  its  authors,  both  of  what  the  public  needed  in  a  Park  of  this 
character,  and  how  its  needs  could  most  perfectly  be  met.  This 
reprint  contains  two  wood-cuts :  one,  of  the  original  design,  and  the 
other  of  the  Park  in  its  present  condition,  showing  how  far  the 
original  design  has  been  carried  out,  and  how  far  it  has  been  modi- 
fied and  improved  upon.  On  examining  these  two  plans,  we  shall 
find  that,  except  at  the  north,  where  the  extension  of  the  boundary 
line  from  106th  to  110th  Street  rendered  an  entire  revision  of  the 
original  design  in  the  upper  portion  necessary,  the  plan,  in  its  main 
features,  is  the  same  in  1868  that  it  was  in  1858.  Such  differences 
as  will  be  observed  are,  nearly  all,  what  may  be  called  external,  re- 
lating to  the  widening  of  the  streets  that  surround  the  Park,  the 
grading  of  the  avenues,  and  the  improvement  of  the  several  ap- 
proaches. In  almost  every  case,  too,  the  changes  and  improve- 
ments that  have  been  made  were  strongly  recommended  in  this  re- 
port, and  have  been  found  necessary  by  experience.  This  is  espe- 
cially worthy  of  remark  because  it  gives  us  a  warrant  that  this  im- 
portant work  is  being  carried  out  with  deliberation  and  thoughtful 
cara  It  was  originally  planned  with  an  intelligence  and  foresight 


30  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

that  made  nothing  necessary  but  to  develop  the  design,  and  ten 
years'  use  of  the  Park  by  the  public  has  sufficiently  proved  its  ex- 
cellence.* A  glance  at  the  Plan,  before  beginning  our  running  de- 
scription of  the  Park  in  detail,  will  enable  us  to  understand  it  bet- 
ter. It  will  be  seen  that  the  whole  area  is  naturally  divided  into 
two  clearly  denned  but  unequal  parts  by  the  prominent  transverse 
ridge  lying  between  74th  Street  and  97th  Street,  which  is  still  fur- 
ther emphasized  by  the  old  and  new  Reservoirs,  two  immense 
structures,  whose  existence  ought,  in  our  opinion,  to  have  been  a 
powerful  argument  against  the  selection  of  this  particular  tract  for 
the  site  of  the  Central  Park.  Large  as  the  Park  appears  to  us  to- 
day, it  will  at  no  very  distant  time  appear  too  small  for  the  number 
of  people  who  will  make  use  of  it,  and  the  withdrawal  of  136  acres, 
the  united  area  of  the  two  Reservoirs,  from  the  768  acres,  which  is 
the  whole  number  contained  within  the  bounding  lines  of  the  Park 
is  a  serious  drawback.  It  is,  however,  of  no  use  to  find  fault  at 
this  late  day  with  the  choice  of  site,  and  the  Commissioners  have 
done  wisely  in  endeavoring  to  make  the  most  of  what  has  been  put 
into  their  hands;  and,  so  well  have  Messrs.  Olmsted  and  Vaux 
managed  with  the  ground  on  either  side  of  these  Reservoirs,  that 
we  may  say  the  smaller  one — the  old  Reservoir — is  hardly  felt  any 
longer  as  an  obstacle.  The  Park  is  divided  into  two  distinct  parts, 
then,  by  the  new  Reservoir  alone.  Let  us,  first,  consider  the  lower 
of  these  two  divisions.  It  has  been  taken  for  granted— it  certainly 
might  reasonably  have  been  taken  for  granted  iu  1858 — that  the 
great  throng  of  visitors  must,  for  a  long  time,  enter  the  Park  from 
the  region  below  59th  Street.  And,  accordingly,  the  two  principal 
entrances  of  the  southern  half  of  the  Park  have  been  made,  the  one, 
at  the  southeastern  angle — Fifth  Avenue  and  Fifty-ninth  Street — 

Pedestrians.  Equestrians.  Vehicles. 

*  In  1862,  there  visited  the  Park, 1,993,918  71,045  709,010 

'•1864,      '•                            •'         2,295,199  100,397  1,148,161 

"1866.      '•                             "        3,412,892  86,757  1,519,808 

"1867,     "                             "        2,998,770  84,994  1,381,697 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  31 

and  the  other  at  the  southwestern  angle — Eighth  Avenue  and  Fif- 
ty-ninth Street.  We  will  enter  the  Park  at  the  former  of  these 
gateways,  and  leave  it  by  the  other,  but  it  will  be  observed  that  the 
road  starting  from  either  of  these  entrances  leads  naturally  toward 
the  interior  of  the  Park,  and  in  every  legitimate  way  avoids  playing 
the  part  of  a  mere  skirting  or  circuit  road.  The  principal  defect  of 
the  Park  site  is  its  disproportioned  length,  and  it  is  especially  de- 
sirable that  the  visitor's  attention  should  be  called  as  little  as  possible 
to  the  boundaries  east  and  west,  which,  when  the  best  has  been 
done,  are  found  very  difficult  to  keep  out  of  sight.  Every  one  of 
the  competing  designs  except  "  Greensward  "  made  the  circuit-drive, 
keeping  as  close  to  the  boundaries  as  possible,  a  prominent  feature, 
and,  probably,  for  the  reasons  that  it  was  thought  best  by  the  de- 
signers, not  only  to  secure  as  long  a  drive  as  the  size  of  the  Park 
would  admit,  but  to  have  as  large  a  space  as  possible  in  the  middle 
of  the  tract  free,  or  comparatively  free,  for  those  who  came  to  the 
Park  not  to  drive,  but  to  walk,  or  stroll,  or  play.  Messrs.  Olmsted 
and  Vaux  alone  saw  that  the  boundary  line  must  be  avoided  ;  but, 
they  also  saw  that  the  enjoyment  of  one  class  of  visitors  must  not 
be  allowed  to  interfere  with  that  of  any  other.  The  first  of  these 
principles  made  them  lead  their  drive  at  once  toward  the  centre, 
and  even  on  the  west  side,  where  it  assumes  more  the  character  of  a 
circuit-drive,  it  will  be  observed  that  the  curves  continually  lead  in, 
and  that  the  road,  in  its  whole  length,  approaches  very  near  the 
boundary  but  once  or  twice,  and  then  only  when  obliged  to  do  so 
by  the  new  Reservoir  and  by  the  western  end  of  the  lake.  The 
second  of  these  principles  has  been  acted  upon  in  the  ingenious  ar- 
rangement by  which  the  drives,  bridle-paths,  and  walks  are  kept 
entirely  separate  and  distinct,  so  that  visitors  desiring  to  enjoy  either 
recreation,  may  do  so  without  interference.  The  whole  Park  may 
be  enjoyed  by  any  one,  whether  in  his  carriage,  on  horseback,  or  on 
foot ;  and,  though  ingenuity  always  reaches  its  end  at  the  least  ex- 
pense, yet  no  necessary  expense  has  been  spared  to  carry  out  this 


32  DESCRIPTION    OF    T II E 

admirable  part  of  the  Park  system  as  perfectly  as  is  possible.  The 
drives  in  the  Park  vary  in  width,  the  widest  being  sixty  feet,  and 
the  narrowest  forty-five ;  they  are  followed  in  their  whole  length 
by  walks  for  pedestrians,  but  there  are  a  great  number  of  these 
walks  that  avoid  the  carriage-road  altogether.  The  bridle-path  is 
twenty-five  feet  wide,  and,  in  the  southern  half  of  the  Park,  runs  a 
course  quite  independent  of  the  drive,  but  in  the  northern  half,  the 
equestrian  has  the  choice,  at  present,  of  turning  into  the  drive  after 
passing  the  old  Reservoir  and  leaving  it  again  after  making  the  cir- 
cuit of  that  portion,  or  of  shortening  his  run  by  rounding  the  Res- 
ervoir, and  so  home.  Meanwhile  children,  pedestrians,  and  old  or 
young  who  come  with  a  book,  with  knitting,  or  merely  to  sit  and 
look  on  the  scene,  have,  free  from  interruption  either  by  carriage  or 
horsemen,  the  Mall,  the  Terrace,  the  Ramble,  the  many  picturesque 
and  comfortable  summer-houses,  and  the  border  walk  about  the  in- 
land sea  of  the  new  Reservoir. 


THE  LAKE  NEAR  FIFTH   AVENUE  AND   FIFTY-NINTH   STREET. 

Immediately  on  entering  the  southeastern  gateway — Fifth  Av- 
enue and  Fifty-ninth  Street— we  see  on  our  left  hand  an  irregular 
piece  of  water  with  banks  of  considerable  steepness.  This  is  called 
"  The  Pond."  It  is  about  five  acres  in  extent,  and,  like  all  the  wa- 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  33 

ter-pieces  in  the  Park,  is  largely  artificial,  advantage  being  taken  of 
the  natural  drainage  of  the  ground.  On  the  western  side  the  banks 
project  boldly  into  the  water,  thus  giving  it  a  sort  of  crescent  shape, 
and,  by  dividing  it  into  two  parts,  adding  greatly  to  its  variety.  The 
banks  are  quite  picturesque ;  here,  a  bold  bluff  on  the  eastern  side 
answers  to  the  rocks  on  the  west ;  here  a  broad  grassy  slope  de- 
scends to  the  very  edge  of  the  water,  and  on  the  southern  side  a 
sandy  beach  enables  the  children  to  watch  the  ducks  and  swans. 
In  the  skating  season  this  Pond  makes  a  capital  chapel-of-ease  to 
the  larger  Terrace  Lake,  and  hundreds  of  skaters  stop  here  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Park  in  preference  to  taking  the  additional  walk, 
and  joining  the  larger  crowd.  As  we  pass  the  Pond  we  see  the 


I  II  K     A  liSK.N  Al.. 


Arsenal  on  our  right,  a  large,  and  by  no  means  handsome  building, 
formerly  owned  by  the  State,  but  purchased  by  the  City  in  1856 
for  the  sum  of  $275,000.  This  purchase  included,  of  course,  the 
ground  on  which  the  Arsenal  stands,  and  it  was  shortly  afterward 
taken  possession  of  by  the  Commissioners,  and  used  for  various 
purposes.  The  lower  stories  served  for  lumber  rooms,  and  in  the 
upper  part  the  large  staff  of  architects  and  engineers'  draughtsmen 
found  rough-looking,  but,  on  the  whole,  very  pleasant  quarters. 


34  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

Perhaps,  however,  we  shall  not  be  far  wrong  if  we  fancy  the  Ar- 
senal to  have  proved  as  troublesome  a  gift  to  the  Commissioners  as 
the  elephant  was  to  the  bewildered  man  who  drew  him  in  a  lottery. 
The  Arsenal  is  a  very  large  building,  and  is  very  poorly  built.  It 
is  a  parallelogram  with  an  octagonal  tower  at  each  angle,  and  two 
side  entrances,  each  flanked  by  towers.  None  of  these  are  in 
reality  towers  at  all,  but  mere  octagonal  projections  from  the  walls; 
they  are  nevertheless  carried  above  the  roof,  which  is  flat,  and,  in 
order  to  complete  the  resemblance  to  towers,  they  are  finished  on  the 
inner  side  with  wood.  All  the  building,  as  all  the  work  of  every 
kind,  that  has  been  done  in  the  Park,  is  of  so  solid  and.  excellent  a 
sort,  that  it  must  be  a  perpetual  annoyance  to  the  Commissioners  to 
have  such  a  flimsy,  make-believe  structure  as  this  on  their  hands. 
There  have  been  various  propositions  to  make  it  serve  some  useful 
purpose.  At  one  time  there  was  talk  of  the  Historical  Society 
taking  it,  and  transferring  thither  their  collections.  This  intention 
has,  we  believe,  been  abandoned,  partly  because  the  Historical  So- 
ciety is  not  yet  in  a  pecuniary  condition  to  avail  itself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity, but  principally,  we  suspect,  because  the  Commission  has  de- 
termined that  the  establishment  of  institutions,  whether  literary  or 
scientific,  within  the  Park,  ought  not  to  be  encouraged,  on  account 
of  its  limited  area.  The  proper  place  for  our  Historical  Societies, 
Museums  of  Natural  History,  Collections  of  Antiquities,  Libraries, 
and  Picture  Galleries,  will  be  on  the  avenues  that  border  the  Park, 
or  better  still,  on  squares  opening  out  of  those  avenues.  Of  late, 
the  Arsenal  building  has  been  used  as  a  place  of  deposit  for  the 
somewhat  incongruous  "gifts"  that  are  made  to  the  Park  every 
year.  Here  are  deposited  several  of  the  designs  of  the  original 
competition ;  among  them  the  curious  model  made  by  Mrs.  Parrish, 
to  illustrate  the  design  she  sent  in  on  paper.  In  the  second  story 
are  a  number  of  stuffed  animals,  and  on  the  ground-floor  a  small 
but  interesting  collection  of  living  ones.  There  are  also  cages  con- 
taining eagles,  foxes,  prairie-dogs,  and  bears,  outside  the  building, 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 


35 


but  it  is  hoped  that  before  long  sufficient  progress  will  have  been 
made  with  the  grounds  of  the  Zoological  Garden — on  the  western 
side  of  the  Eighth  Avenue,  between  77th  and  81st  streets — to  allow 
of  all  the  animals  belonging  to  the  Park  being  removed  to  quarters 
expressly  designed  for  them,  and  suited  to  their  comfort  and  well- 
being. 

Just  before  reaching  the  Arsenal  the  bridle-road  and  foot-path, 
which,  for  a  short  distance  have  run  parallel,  diverge :  the  one  turn- 
ing sharp  to  the  west  and  running  under  the  carriage-road,  which 
spans  it  by  a  handsome  bridge  of  Albert  sandstone,  the  other  keep- 


BEIDGE  OVEB  THE  BRIDLE  PATH  NEAR  ARSENAL. 


ing  due  north,  passing  the  Arsenal,  and  a  little  beyond  it  going  under 
one  of  the  transverse  traffic-roads,  to  which  we  have  before  alluded. 
There  are  four  of  these  transverse  roads  in  the  whole  length  of  the 
Park  :  one  at  Sixty-fifth  Street ;  another  at  Seventy-ninth  ;  a  third 
at  Eighty-fifth  Street,  on  the  Fifth  Avenue,  but  as  it  follows  the 
curved  southern  wall  of  the  new  Eeservoir,  this  road  comes  out  at 
Eighty-sixth  Street  on  the  Eighth  Avenue.  The  fourth  road  is  at 
Ninety -seventh  Street  The  original  instructions  to  the  competitors 
called  for  these  transverse  roads,  but  no  one  of  the  designs,  except- 
ing "  Greensward,"  offered  any  solution  to  the  very  serious  problem 
presented  by  the  necessity  of  making  provision  for  the  traffic  that 


36 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


must  at  some  day  be  provided  with  roadway  across  the  Park,  and 
which  must  yet,  at  the  same  time,  be  prevented  from  interfering 
with  the  objects  for  which  the  Park  has  been  created.  All  the 
other  competitors  merely  carried  their  transverse  roads  from  one 
side  of  the  Park  to  the  other,  on  the  surface,  keeping  the  same  level 
with  the  other  roads,  and  not  in  any  way  to  be  distinguished  from 
them.  Of  course,  such  an  arrangement  as  this  would  have  even 
now  been  sufficient  to  interfere  seriously  with  the  comfort,  the  re- 
tirement, and  even  the  safety  of  the  Park.  What  would  it  have 
been  in  twenty  years,  when  the  steadily  advancing  flood  of  houses 
and  shops,  with  their  swarms  of  inhabitants,  shall  have  broken 
against  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Park,  crowded  up  the  narrow 
territory  on  either  side,  and  met  again,  to  spread  over  the  whole 
northern  end  of  the  island  ?  Messrs.  Olmsted  and  Vaux  early  saw 


THE  HALL,    LOOKING  VP. 


this  difficulty,  and  devised  the  plan,  which  was  at  once  adopted,  of 
carrying  these  transverse  roads  below  the  level  of  the  Park  surface. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  37 

The  only  place  where  any  one  of  these  traffic-roads  goes  over,  in- 
stead of  under,  the  other  roads  of  the  Park,  is  at  the  point  we  have 
just  mentioned,  near  the  Arsenal,  where  the  foot-path  passes  under 
an  archway  of  Albert  sandstone,  with  abutments  of  stone  and  a 
railing  of  iron  supported  by  stone  posts.  Meanwhile,  the  carriage- 
road,  crossing  the  bridle-path  by  the  stone  bridge  shown  in  the  cut, 
crosses  this  same  traffic-road  by  a  bridge  whose  architecture  is  near- 
ly concealed  by  the  shrubbery — for,  whenever  it  has  been  possible 
to  do  so,  the  architects  have  endeavored  to  keep  the  existence  of  the 
traffic-roads  out  of  mind,  as  well  as  out  of  sight — and  in  a  few 
minutes  reaches  the  southern  end  of  the  Mall. 

The  Mall  is  a  straight  walk  leading,  from  a  point  just  beyond 
the  first  traffic-road,  where  the  roads  starting  from  the  Eighth  and 
the  Fifth  Avenues  meet,  to  the  architectural  structure  called  "  The 
Terrace."  It  is  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  twelve  feet  in  length 
and  thirty-five  feet  in  width,  and  is  planted  in  its  whole  extent  with 
a  double  row  of  American  elms.  It  is  intended  to  serve  both  for  a 
promenade  and  a  resting-place ;  the  ground  has  been  carefully  con- 
structed to  be  pleasant  to  the  foot,  and  comfortable  seats  are  placed 
at  frequent  points.  At  a  point  near  the  southern  end  of  the  Mall, 
between  the  last  two  elms  on  the  eastern  side,  is  the  site  where  the 
proposed  statue  of  Shakespeare  is  to  be  erected.  The  stone  on  which 
the  pedestal  is  to  be  placed  was  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies  on 
Saturday,  the  23d  of  April,  1864,  that  day  being  the  three  hundreth 
anniversary  of  the  poet's  birth.  The  proposition  to  erect  this  me- 
morial was  made  by  Messrs.  James  II.  Hackett,  Esq.,  William 
Whcatley,  Esq.,  Edwin  Booth,  Esq.,  and  lion.  Charles  P.  Daly,  on 
behalf  of  the  Shakespeare  Dramatic  Association.  The  public  have 
been  appealed  to  for  contributions,  and  have  liberally  responded,  so 
that  the  statue,  which  has  been  designed  by  one  of  our  best  sculptors, 
J.  Q.  A.  Ward,  Esq.,  will,  before  long,  be  added  to  the  attractions 
of  the  Park.  Although  we  are  not  able  to  present  our  readers  with 
an  engraving  of  this  statue,  since  it  has  not  yet  left  the  artist's  stu- 


38 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


dio,  we  may  venture  to  assert  that,  not  merely  as  a  work  of  art,  but 
as  a  psychological  study  of  the  man,  Shakespeare,  founded  as  it  is  on 
a  careful  analytical  study  of  the  Stratford  bust  and  of  the  Droeshout 
engraving,  it  can  hardly  fail  to  be  of  value,  and  may  give  us,  what 
it  would  be  very  pleasant  to  have,  a  standard  imaginary  statue  of 
Shakespeare. 

One  of  the  two  drives  starting  from  the  Eighth  Avenue  entrance 
joins  the  drive  we  have  been  thus  far  following  from  the  Fifth  Ave- 
nue, but,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  reference  to  the  Plan,  they  again  di- 
verge, the  one  keeping  to  the  left  of  the  Mall,  and  the  other  to  the 
right  of  it.  Our  road  continues,  winding  a  little,  but  without  any 
sharp  turns,  until  it  reaches  the  new  Reservoir;  but  there  are 


THE  FOOT-PATH  BY  WILLOWS,   SOUTH-EAST  OF  THE  MALL. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  39 

several  points  which  we  pass  before  getting  so  far,  and  as  we  are 
not  confined  to  a  literal  vehicle  in  this  imaginary  visit  of  ours  we 
can  stop  and  look  about  us  at  our  leisure. 

At  a  short  distance  from  the  southern  end  of  the  Mall  the  drive 
crosses  the  bridge  shown  in  our  cut,  a  neat  structure  of  dark  red 
brick,  the  masonry  of  which,  like  all  the  masonry  in  the  Park,  is 
the  very  best  of  its  kind.  Looking  over  the  bridge  at  the  left,  we 
see  a  group  of  large  old  willows,  evidently  ancient  denizens  of  this 
region.  When  the  Commissioners  first  took  the  Park  lands  in  hand 
they  found  very  few  trees  of  any  considerable  size  growing  on  this 
nearly  barren  tract,  but  they  very  jealously  preserved  all  that  they 
did  find.  Among  them  were  these  willows,  and  there  were,  here 
and  there,  other  specimens  of  the  same  tree,  which  we  shall  meet 
with  further  on.  There  are  also  a  few  oaks  of  good  size  near  the 
Casino,  and  a  small  group  of  pines  on  the  lawn  west  of  the  Mall.  It 
may  be  remembered  that  one  of  the  principal  recommendations  of 
the  Jones's  Wood  site  for  the  Park  was  the  large  and  flourishing 
growth  of  forest  trees  that  nearly  covered  that  tract  of  land,  whereas 
the  site  of  the  Central  Park  was  rocky  and  marshy,  and  not  only 
had  few  trees,  but  had  scarcely  any  thing  that  deserved  the  name  of 
shrubbery.  But,  after  consulting  with  all  the  gardeners  who  had 
had  experience  in  the  matter,  the  weight  of  evidence  seemed  to  be 
against  the  practice  of  cutting  walks  and  drives  through  old  wood- 
land where  it  is  found  necessary  to  fell  much  of  the  standing  timber. 
And  although  it  was  plain  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  wait  a  con- 
siderable time  before  any  very  striking  or  satisfactory  result  could 
be  looked  for  from  young  plantations,  it  was  decided  to  take  the 
barren  tract — the  sheet  of  white  paper,  and  write  the  future  Park 
poem  upon  that.  The  popular  desire,  very  loudly  and  impatiently 
expressed,  for  large  trees,  drove  the  Commissioners  into  planting  the 
Mall  with  elms  too  far  advanced  in  growth  to  be  moved  with  safety. 
This  was  done  by  contract  with  a  person  who  agreed  to  demand  pay 
for  only  such  trees  as  lived,  and  the  result  of  the  first  year's  plant- 


40 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


ing  was  that  a  large  number  of  the  trees  not  only  on  the  Mall  but 
in  other  parts  of  the  Park  died,  though  the  most  considerable  plant- 
ing had  been  along  the  Mall.  Since  that  time  the  experiment  of 
moving  large  trees  has  been  abandoned,  and  the  public  has  ceased 
worrying  the  Commissioners  into  trying  to  circumvent  nature. 

The  bridge  by  the  willows,  which  we  have  just  passed  over,  is 
very  prettily  constructed  within,  having  seats  in  niches  at  the  sides, 
which  give  grateful  cooling  rest  on  a  sultry  day,  and  in  one  of  these 
niches  is  a  fountain  basin,  where  a  draught  of  cold  water  can  at  all 
times  be  procured. 

As  we  near  Seventy-second  Street  our  carriage-road  divides,  or, 
rather,  sends  off  two  branches.  One  of  these  is  a  mere  outlet  to 
Seventy-second  Street ;  the  other  leads  to  the  u  Terrace,"  the  central 
object  of  interest  in  the  lower  park.  It  will  be  discovered,  how- 
ever, by  looking  at  the  Plan,  that  the  roads  at  this  point  are  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  secure  an  almost  direct  communication  across  the  Park 

from  the  Fifth  to  the  Eighth  Ave- 
nue. A  similar  arrangement  ex- 
ists at  One  Hundred  and  Second 
Street,  but  it  is  not  made  as  easy 
to  cross  here  as  at  the  lower  trans- 
verse, because  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Park  at  that  point  does  not 
make  it  desirable  to  establish  this 
sort  of  communication  as  yet  But 
it  is  evident  that,  as  the  city  grows, 
it  will  become  necessary  to  increase 
the  facilities  for  crossing  the  Park, 
either  on  foot,  or  in  vehicles, 
whether  for  pleasure  or  from  neces- 
sity. For  mere  business  communi- 
cation between  the  two  sides  of  the  city,  divided  as  it  will  be 
for  a  distance  of  more  than  two  miles  and  a  half  by  the  Park — 


1IKISKING     FOUNTAIN. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  41 

the  four  traffic-roads  afford  all  the  facilities  that  will  probably 
be  needed.  These  are  for  carts  and  wagons  of  all  descrip- 
tions, for  fire-engines,  for  funerals — no  funeral  procession  is 
allowed  to  enter  the  Park  proper — and  for  all  vehicles  that 
are  not  suited  to  a  place  of  the  character  which  ought  to  be 
maintained  in  a  large  public  pleasure-ground.  Yet,  it  will  easily 
be  seen  that,  for  many  purposes,  it  may  be  highly  desirable  to  have 
easy  access  from  one  side  of  the  city  to  the  other  without  being 
obliged  to  use  the  traffic-roads,  for,  these  roads,  being  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  though  open  to  the  light  and  air,  are  not  as 
pleasant  as  they  would  be  if  they  were  not  so  confined.  A  lady  in 
her  carriage,  or  a  gentleman  on  horseback  or  on  foot,  making  calls 
in  the  side  of  the  city  opposite  to  where  they  live;  a  physician 
called  suddenly  to  visit  a  patient;  a  patient  needing  suddenly  to 
summon  his  physician ;  boys  and  girls  going  to  school  or  to  college ; 
— it  will  be  allowed  that  in  such  cases  as  these  a  better  means  of 
communication  than  that  afforded  by  the  traffic-road  ought  to  be 
provided,  but,  it  seems  to  us,  that  these  are  not  the  only  cases  which 
need  to  be  considered.  "We  dare  say  that  men  of  the  large  humanity 
of  the  designers  of  this  Park  did  not  forget  the  equal  claim  of  those 
who  have  humbler  errands.  The  washerwoman  going  home  with 
her  basket  of  snow  after  a  hard  day's  work  over  tub  or  ironing-ta- 
ble ;  the  sewing-girl  shut  up  since  early  morning  in  a  crowded  room 
with  the  click  of  her  sewing-machine  in  her  ear  for  the  oriole's  song ; 
the  teacher  fagged  with  disciplining  those  boys  whom  Plato  declared 
to  be  the  most  ferocious  of  wild  beasts ; — all  these,  and  more  beside, 
need  after  their  labors  the  rest  of  a  quiet  walk  with  grass  and  trees 
and  sky,  to  make  up  for  something  of  what  has  been  lost  in  the  wear 
and  tear  of  the  day.  For  such  as  these  the  easy  communication  by 
flowing  diagonals  from  the  Eighth  Avenue  and  Fifty-ninth  Street 
to  Seventy- second  and  Seventy -ninth  streets  on  the  Fifth  A Venue; 
from  the  entrance  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  and  Fifty-ninth  Street  to 
Seventy -second  Street ;  and  the  more  direct  roads  that  we  have  al- 

6 


4'2  DESCRIPTION    OF    T  11  K 

ready  mentioned  at  Seventy -second,  Ninety-sixth,  and  One  Hun- 
dred and  Second  streets — were  surely  designed,  and  offer  a  most 
useful  preparation  for  the  day's  labor,  and  a  most  welcome  rest  af- 
ter it  is  over. 

As  we  have  reached  the  neighborhood  of  the  Terrace,  we  may 
as  well  visit  it  now  as  leave  it  till  our  return.  Yet  the  Terrace  can 
only  be  thoroughly  seen  and  enjoyed  by  those  who  are  on  foot,  and 
as  it  is  useless  for  us  to  attempt  a  regular  and  uninterrupted  prog- 
ress through  the  Park  in  this  imaginary  visit  of  ours,  we  will  place 
ourselves  again  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Mall  and  approach  the 
Terrace  through  this  overarching  green  alley,  of  which  it  is  the  care- 
full  v  designed  terminus. 

The  two  divisions  of  the  Park  which  we  have  called  "  the  up- 
per" and  the  "lower,"  although  artificially  separated  bvthe  great 


THE  TERRACE  FROM  THE  NORTH. 


Reservoirs  of  the  Croton  Aqueduct,  are,  nevertheless,  clearly  defined 
by  their  natural  differences.     That  portion  of  the  ground  north  of 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  43 

the  Reservoirs  is  distinguished  by  the  freer  sweep  and  greater  va- 
riety of  its  horizon  lines,  and  by  the  much  more  beautiful  and  in- 
teresting character  of  the  landscape,  not  merely  in  the  Park  itself, 
but  of  the  surrounding  country,  which  can  be  commanded  from  its 
most  elevated  points.  This  upper  park  is  much  better  suited  to  be 
dealt  with  by  the  landscape  gardener,  who  produces  his  most  legiti- 
mate effects  with  trees  and  grass  and  flowers,  with  rocks  and  water, 
and  who  relies  as  little  as  possible  upon  buildings  of  any  kind. 
The  lower  park,  on  the  contrary,  is  almost  entirely  artificial  in  its 
construction,  and  depends  greatly  for  its  attractiveness  on  artificial 
beauties.  Not  to  trouble  the  reader  with  a  too  scientific  statement, 
we  will  say  in  a  word  that  the  rocky  ridge,  on  the  edge  of  which 
New  York  island  lies,  comes  to  the  surface  at  about  Thirtieth  Street, 
and  is  to  be  met  with,  chiefly  on  the  western  side,  from  that  point 
to  Manhattanville.  From  this  ridge  to  the  Hudson  is  three-quarters 
of  a  mile,  and  to  the  East  River  nearly  a  mile.  On  the  eastern 
•  slope  the  Central  Park  is  placed,  and  all  the  water,  therefore,  that 
either  falls  in  rain,  or  flows  from  springs,  finds  its  way  naturally  in- 
to the  East  River.  The  tract,  however,  is  by  no  means  a  uniform 
slope  ;  it  is  divided  transversely  by  four  irregular  ridges,  with  their 
corresponding  valleys,  the  chief  of  these  ridges  crossing  the  Park 
somewhat  diagonally,  and  thus  making  the  greatest  elevation  in  the 
central,  westerly,  and  northwesterly  portions.  But  there  are  very 
few  places  in  the  whole  extent  of  the  Park  where  rock  is  not  to  be 
met  with ;  with  the  exception  of  two  tracts —  partly  boggy  and  part- 
ly meadow — of  ten  acres,  or  thereabouts,  each,  the  report  tells  us 
that  there  is  not  an  acre  in  the  lower  park,  and  nearly  the  same  may 
be  said  of  the  upper  park,  where  a  crowbar  could,  originally,  have 
been  thrust  its  length  into  the  ground  without  striking  rock  ;  and 
even  where  the  gneiss  was  not  visible  to  the  eye  (and  for  the  most 
part  it  lay  bare  to  the  sun  with  neither  mould,  nor  weeds,  nor  even 
moss  upon  it),  it  was  found  to  be  within  from  two  inches  to  three 
feet  of  the  surface  for  long  distances  together.  This  was  the  condi- 


44  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

tion  of  the  Park  when  Messrs.  Olmsted  and  Vaux  began  operations, 
and  it  may  well  be  imagined  that  it  was  no  easy  task  to  prepare  this 
barren  waste  for  beauty.  Let  us  glance  for  a  moment  at  the  topog- 
raphy of  this  lower  park.  We  find  in  it  two  lateral  valleys,  one 
running  from  about  Sixty-fourth  Street  to  the  Fifth  Avenue  angle  ; 
the  waters  that  drained  this  depression  have  been  gathered  into  the 
Pond,  which  we  have  already  described.  The  second  valley  ex- 
tended from  Seventy-seventh  Street  and  Eighth  Avenue  to  Seventy- 
fourth  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue.  The  division  between  these  two 
valleys  was  a  rocky  plateau  covered  with  a  moderately  thick  soil, 
but  the  remainder  of  the  lower  park  was  made  up  of  low  hills  and 
hillocks,  the  rock  of  which  they  were  composed  everywhere  crop- 
ping out  boldly  in  large,  smooth,  flattish  masses,  washed  bare  of 
soil.  Of  this  second  valley,  the  northern  side  was  an  irregular  rocky 
hill-side,  crowned  most  inartistically  by  the  walls  of  the  old  Reser- 
voir, and  this  was  easily  in  sight  from  every  eminence  in  the  lower 
park.  As  nature  had  refused  to  do  any  thing  whatever  for  this  re- 
gion, had,  indeed,  done  every  thing  to  make  it  a  sheet  of  white  paper 
for  man  to  write  what  he  could  upon,  there  was  absolutely  nothing 
to  be  done,  but  to  bring  in  all  the  aids  of  art  and  create  the  attrac- 
tions which  nature  had  failed  to  furnish  out  of  her  own  treasury. 
The  plan  was  a  simple  one,  but  it  was  well  calculated  to  produce 
the  maximum  of  effect.  The  walk  we  have  already  described — the 
Mall — crosses  the  central  plateau  between  the  two  depressions,  di- 
agonally, but  in  a  direction  nearly  north  and  south.  It  is  planted 
along  its  whole  length  with  a  double  row  of  American  elms,  set  so 
as  to  leave  entirely  clear  the  walk  proper,  of  thirty-five  feet  in  width. 
In  the  original  design  there  was  no  entrance  to  the  Mall  from  the 
sides,  but  at  present  two  walks  cross  it,  connecting  the  foot-paths 
that  run  parallel  with  it  on  either  side.  Near  the  upper  end  we 
come  to  the  Music-stand,  a  remarkably  pretty  structure,  where, 
twice  a  week,  a  first-rate  band  performs,  and  makes  an  attraction 
which,  on  a  fine  day,  draws  immense  crowds.  The  Music-stand  it- 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  45 

self  is  decorated  with  colors  and  gilding  after  a  design  by  Mr.  Ja- 
cob Wrey  Mould,  a  gentleman  to  whom,  as  we  shall  presently  see, 


TH3  MUSIC-STAND. 


the  public  is  indebted  for  almost  all  the  decorative  work  in  the 
Park,  and  without  whose  help  the  Terrace,  especially,  could  hardly 
have  become  the  attraction  it  has  proved.  Just  beyond  the  Music- 
stand  we  reach  the  end  of  the  Mall,  which  opens  upon  an  ample 
rectangle  of  gravel,  ornamented  with  two  fountains,  with  gilded 
bird-cages,  and  with  two  extremely  pretty  drinking-basins.  On  mu- 
sic-days when  the  sun  is  oppressive,  this  square  is  covered  with  a 
light  awning,  and  set  with  benches,  where  ladies  and  children  gath- 
er and  eat  creams  and  ices  to  the  "  Minuet"  in  Don  Juan,  or  "  Le 
sabre  de  mon  pore." 

On  the  opposite  side  of  this  pretty  plaza  an  elegant  screen  of 
Albert  freestone  separates  it  from  the  carriage-road,  to  which  ac- 
cess is  given,  however,  by  two  openings,  one  at  each  side,  so  that 
persons  can  either  leave  their  carriages  to  walk  in  the  Mall  and  lis- 
ten to  the  music,  or  can  take  them  again  after  the  entertainment  is 


DESCRIPTION    OF    T  H  K 


over.     This  carriage-road,  as  will  be  seen  by  llie  Plan,  runs  along 
the  edge  of  the  second  of  the  two  valleys  which  we  have  mentioned 


TEEKACE — LOOKING   SOUTH. 


as  dividing  the  lower  park ;  and  the  lake  which  lies  at  the  bottom 
of  this  depression — for  "valley,"  perhaps,  is  too  high-sounding  a 
name — is  at  present  the  chief  point  of  interest  in  the  whole  Park, 
though  it  was  originally  intended  only  as  a  centre  of  attraction  for 
the  southern  portion.  As  on  music-days,  and  it  is  hoped  that,  be- 
fore long,  every  day  will  be  a  music-day,  a  great  number  of  people 
assemble  at  this  point,  in  the  Mall  and  on  the  plaza,  on  foot,  and, 
in  the  broad  drive,  in  carriages  and  on  horseback — it  was  found 
necessary  to  provide  a  means  of  reaching  the  lower  level  of  the  lake 
without  the  necessity  of  crossing  the  road,  which,  especially  for 
timid  women  and  for  children,  would  almost  always  be  dangerous. 
Between  the  two  openings  in  the  stone-screen  a  wide  flight  of  steps 
leads  down  from  the  plaza  to  a  broad  and  well-lighted  passage  giv- 
ing upon  the  Terrace  and  the  Lake. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  theory  on  which  the  drives, 
rides,  and  walks  in  the  Park  are  arranged — the  theory  that  every 


XEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  47 

person  who  comes  here  shall  be  enabled  to  enjoy  his  visit  in  his 
own  way ;  that  those  in  carriages  shall  not  be  obliged  to  look  out 


•  SSI  .--^tf°a-— .  ^^^™* 

~^£3^i£«===^r'°5-= i=>-:^=^;rrf:: 


8TAIBS  LEADING  TO  THE  LAKE— TERRACE. 


for  the  safety  of  persons  on  foot;  that  horsemen  shall  be  free 
to  canter,  to  gallop,  or  to  trot,  without  the  fear  of  meeting  either 
carriages  or  pedestrians;  and  that  those  who  come  for  a  walk, 
whether  it  be  a  meditative  stroll  or  a  brisk  "constitutional," 
shall  not  be  run  over  by  Jehus,  or  knocked  down  by  any  fiery 
Pegasus.*  Horsemen  may,  if  they  choose,  ride  upon  the  carriage- 
roads,  but  pedestrians  who  take  either  the  drives  or  the  rides  do 
so  at  their  own  risk.  Children,  however,  are  not  permitted  to 
leave  the  walks,  and,  by  keeping  to  these,  a  muscular  infant 
might  toddle  from  one  end  of  the  Park  to  the  other,  and  run 
no  danger  whatever. 

*  There  is  no  law  of  the  Park  that  forbids  to  turn  and  wind  the  fiery  Pegasus,  and 
witch  the  world  with  wondrous  horsemanship,  if  it  can  be  done ;  but  Jehu  is  not  al- 
lowed to  try  his  skill.  Not  only  is  it  forbidden  to  drive  beyond  a  certain  moderate 
rate,  but  the  roads  are  intentionally  so  laid  out  as  to  make  racing  impossible. 


48  DESCRIPTION    OP    THE 

It  was  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the  foot-walk  under  the  car- 
riage-road at  this  particular  point  that  the  elaborate  architecture  of 
the  Terrace  was  designed.  It  is  at  present  incomplete,  and  indeed 
it  must  be  many  years  before  the  design,  as  it  exists  on  paper,  can 
be  fully  carried  out,  because  it  includes  full-length  statues,  as  also 
busts,  of  distinguished  Americans,  which  it  is  intended  to  place 
upon  the  large  pedestals  that  are  now  covered  with  temporary 
ornamental  caps.  The  Commissioners  have  done  wisely  in  mak- 
ing no  attempt  whatever  as  yet  to  procure  statues  for  these  places, 
and  it  ought  not  to  be  done  until  there  is  ample  means  to  secure 
the  best  work  possible  in  America.  First-rate  statues  are  as  yet. 
hardly  to  be  got  for  money  here,  though  we  cordially  believe 
that  they  will  be  produced  in  good  time ;  but  until  they  can  be 
had  it  is  best  to  wait,  for  a  second-rate  statue  is  like  a  tolerable 
egg — it  is  not  to  be  endured.  If  one  statue  is  found  fit  to  be 
placed  upon  the  Terrace  in  a  generation,  we  shall  think  we  are 
getting  on  very  well  indeed.  But  so  long  as  the  pedestals  want 
their  heroes,  so  long  the  Terrace  will  be  incomplete,  and  people 
will  be  half-justified  in  saying  that  it  looks  squat.  This,  how- 
ever, is  a  difficulty  which  it  was  not  possible  for  the  architects 
to  avoid.  They  probably  never  expected  nor  intended  that  the 
Park  would  be  completed  in  a  single  decade,  nor  in  two.  Indeed, 
until  every  tree  upon  it  is  fully  grown,  the  effect  they  had  in 
view  at  the  beginning  cannot  be  realized. 

We  must  consider  the  Terrace,  then,  as  an  incomplete  archi- 
tectural composition,  and  admire  the  beauty  and  variety  of  its 
decoration  without  troubling  ourselves  at  the  absence  of  what 
we  should  be  very  sorry  to  see  supplied,  unless  it  enhanced  and 
crowned  those  ornaments  which  are  intended  to  be,  finally,  not 
principal  but  subsidiary.  And  in  passing  down  the  broad  and 
elegant  stairs  that  lead  to  the  lower  level,  we  wish  to  call  the 
visitors'  attention  to  the  panels  of  the  railing  which  surround 
the  well  of  the  staircase.  It  will  be  observed  that  no  two  of 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  49 

all  these  many  panels  are  alike,  but  their  beauty  and  ingenuity 
are  much  more  worthy  of  admiration  than  their  mere  variety. 
This  part  of  the  Terrace  was  first  completed — this  and  the  stone 
screen-work  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road.  On  the  staircase 
leading  from  the  carriage-drive  to  the  lower  terrace  the  carving 
of  the  rails  and  posts  with  their  connecting  ramps  was  executed 
later ;  much  of  it  has  been  only  lately  finished,  and  much  remains 
to  do.  The  earlier  work  is  of  a  more  conventional  character  than 
the  later,  although  it  is  all  based  on  the  forms  of  vegetation,  but 
the  decoration  of  the  two  great  staircases  on  the  north  is  almost 
purely  naturalistic,  being  symbolic  of  the  four  seasons.  The  main 
design  of  the  Terrace  stone-work  is  due  to  Mr.  Calvert  Yaux, 
but  the  credit  of  the  entire  decoration  is  given  by  him  to  his 
able  assistant,  Mr.  Mould.  Of  this  gentleman  we  have  before 
spoken ;  we  "need  not  say  that  he  is  a  man  of  remarkable  genius, 
for  his  name  is  by  this  time  widely  known,  but  his  connection 
with  the  architecture  of  the  Park  has  not  been  sufficiently  recog- 
nized. The  truth  is  that  Mr.  Mould,  who  for  a  long  time 
served  as  simply  an  assistant  to  the  architect-in-chief,  Mr.  Ol  ru- 
sted, and  to  the  consulting  architect,  Mr.  Vaux,  has  proved  him- 
self worthy  of  the  equal  mention  which,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly 
ten  years,  the  Commissioners  have  at  length  awarded  him  in  the 
last  report,  where  he  is  no  longer  styled  an  assistant,  but  a  prin- 
cipal. 

Mr.  Mould  is  an  Englishman  by  birth  and  education.  Having 
graduated  both  at  the  school  and  the  college  of  King's  College, 
London,  he  was  entered  as  an  articled  pupil  in  the  office  of  Owen 
Jones,  where  he  remained  from  1840  to  1848.  While  studying 
under  the  direction  of  this  accomplished  artist,  Mr.  Mould  trans- 
ferred to  stone  the  whole  of  the  second  volume  of  Owen  Jones's 
great  work  on  the  Alhambra — the  Detail  volume — and  also  exe- 
cuted wholly  the  w^ell-known  Gray's  Elegy  Illuminated,  and  the 

illustrations  and  illuminations  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 

7 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


published  by  John  Murray.     While  he  was  getting  steadiness  of 
hand,  and  educating  his  eye  in  color  under  the  guidance  of  Owen 


JACOB   WllJir   MOULD. 


Jones,  he  was  not  so  thoroughly  taught  in  construction,  for  this 
was  never  a  strong  point  with  his  master.  In  1348,  however, 
Mr.  Mould  became  the  first  assistant  to  Mr.  Lewis  Vulliamy, 
Sir  Eobert  Smirke's  first  pupil,  and  author  of  a  well-known  work 
on  Greek  Ornament.  Mr.  Vulliamy  being  an  excellent  construc- 
tionist,  his  new  assistant  had  now  the  opportunity  he  had  so  long 
desired,  to  supplement  his  knowledge  of  decorative  art  with  skill 
in  more  purely  architectural  studies.  And  he  was  soon  brought 
into  the  thick  of  a  most  searching  practical  experience.  Mr. 
Vulliamy  received  the  commission  from  Mr.  Holford,  an  English 


XKW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  51 

gentleman,  to  build  a  mansion  for  him  on  the  site  of  Dorchester 
House.  This  was  one  of  the  most  splendid  commissions  that 
has  been  given  by  a  private  person  to  any  architect  of  our  time. 
But,  scarcely  had  work  been  begun  on  the  plans,  when  Mr.  Vul- 
liamy,  at  the  age  of  seventy,  slipped  on  the  ice  at  Highgate,  and 
sustained  a  severe  injury  that  confined  him  to  his  house  for  four 
years.  During  that  time  Mr.  Mould  had  entire  control  of  the 
office,  and  built  Holford  House.  Its  splendor  may  be  imagined 
from  one  single  item.  Two  grand  staircases  were  designed  for 
it  by  Mr.  Mould,  of  which,  one  was  estimated  at  £32,000,  and 
the  other  at  £56,000.  Mr.  Holford  chose  the  more  costly,  which 
was  built,  and  stands  to-day  the  most  beautiful  work  of  its  kind  in 
Europe.  Mr.  Mould  came  to  this  country  in  1852.  Shortly  after 
his  arrival  in  New  York,  and  after  he  had  proved  his  ability  in  the 
erection  of  several  important  structures,  he  was  invited  to  assist 
Mr.  Vaux  in  the  architectural  department  of  the  Park,  where  he 
has  ever  since  been  fully  employed.  His  graceful  and  unwearied 
hand  is  seen  in  many  places,  and,  we  hope,  will  be  seen  in  many 
more ;  but  his  principal  performance  in  the  Park  has,  thus  far,  been 
the  Terrace,  the  general  design  of  which  is  by  Mr.  Vaux,  but  all 
the  details  have  been  left  to  Mr.  Mould.  His  work  is  remark- 
able for  its  variety  and  its  suggestiveness.  He  combines  a  strong 
feeling  for  color  with  an  equal  enjoyment  of  form,  and  he  has 
such  delight  in  his  art  that  it  is  far  easier  for  him  to  make  every 
fresh  design  an  entirely  new  one,  than  to  copy  something  he  has 
made  before.  It  was  a  fortunate  day  for  the  public  when  Mr. 
Vaux  made  his  acquaintance,  and  with  that  quick  appreciation 
of  excellence  which  distinguishes  him,  called  him  to  his  assist- 
ance. 

Descending  the  stairs  that  lead  from  the  Plaza  to  the  lower 
terrace  we  find  ourselves  in  a  large  and  delightfully  cool  hall 
which  has  been  constructed  under  the  carriage-road.  Its  decora- 
tion is  not  yet  completed,  but  enough  is  finished  to  show  how 


-.,  DESCRIPTION    OF    T  H  K 

rich,   and  yet  how   elegant  will  be   the  final   effect.     The  walls 
are    of    Albert    freestone,    with    large    circular  -  headed    niches, 


STONE  8CBEEN    DIVIDING   PLAZA   FROM   CARRIAGE   ROAD. 


designed  to  be  filled  in  with  elaborate  arabesque  patterns  in 
encaustic  tiles.  The  whole  floor  is  laid  with  Minton's  tiles,  and 
the  ceiling  is  composed  of  richly  gilded  iron  beams,  enclosing 
large  squares  of  colored  tiles,  this  being  the  first  time,  we  be- 
lieve, that  tiles  have  been  used  here  for  ceiling  decoration.  It 
was  for  a  long  time  a  problem  how  to  fix  them  securely. beyond 
the  peradventure  of  a  fall,  perhaps  upon  some  luckless  pate.  By 
a  very  ingenious,  but  very  simple,  device,  the  desired  safety  has 
been  secured,  and  the  whole  ceiling  is  being  covered  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner :— In  the  first  place  all  the  tiles  used  in  the  Terrace 
were  first  designed  by  Mr.  Mould,  and  the  drawings  sent  over 
and  executed  at  Minton's  works  in  England.  As  ordinarily  man- 
ufactured, the  tiles  have  a  number  of  holes  sunk  in  the  under 
side  and  certain  flattish  depressions  beside  crossing  the  surface 


XKW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK.  53 

iii  squares,  these  holes  and  depressions  being  for  the  purpose  of 
binding  the  tile  to  the  cement  which  is  forced  into  the  body  of 
the  tile  by  pressure,  and,  when  dry,  holds  it  very  securely.  In 
this  way  all  the  tiles  used  in  the  Terrace  flooring  and  wall  work 
are  constructed,  but  something  more  was  needed  in  the  tiles  made 
for  the  ceiling.  In  the  middle  of  the  back  of  each  of  these  a 
narrow  slot  is  sunk,  into  which  a  brass  key  with  a  projecting 
end  fits,  and  is  secured  by  a  turn.  The  hole  is  then  filled  up 
with  cement,  and-  the  removal  of  the  key  is  impossible,  except 
by  using  considerable  force.  The  tiles  having  been  all  prepared 
in  this  way,  a  plate  of  wrought  iron,  fitted  into  a  frame,  is  elevated 
by  a  screw-jack  to  the  top  of  an  iron  scaffolding,  placed  under 
one  of  the  squares  formed  by  the  intersection  of  the  iron  beams 
of  the  ceiling.  This  plate  is  exactly  the  size  of  the  square  under 
which  it  now  lies.  It  is  pierced  with  as  many  holes  as  there  are 
tiles  to  be  laid  upon  it,  and  the  projecting  ends  of  the  brass  keys 
we  have  mentioned  fit  easily  into  these  holes,  and  are  secured 
by  brass  nuts  screwed  upon  the  opposite  side.  When  the  pattern 
is  complete,  and  each  tile  firmly  fixed  in  its  place,  the  great  iron 
plate  is  reversed  by  a  simple  machinery  and  elevated  to  its  place 
in  the  ceiling,  where  it  is  held  fast  to  the  beams  by  strong  screws. 
So  neatly  is  the  work  done,  that,  to  all  appearances,  the  tiles  are 
laid  upon  the  ceiling  as  they  are  laid  upon  the  floor. 

All  the  stone-work  of  this  interior  is  beautifully  carved,  though 
nowhere  in  excess,  but  to  one  who  enjoys  such  things  it  is  a 
pleasure  to  study  the  variety  of  design,  no  two  caps  or  pilasters 
being  alike. 

And  here  let  it  be  said  that  it  is  not  the  artist  nor  the  lover 
of  art  alone,  to  whose  pleasure  and  instruction  it  has  been  sought 
to  minister  in  the  construction  of  the  Terrace,  and,  indeed  of 
every  material  construction  in  the  Park.  .  It  certainly  has  not 
been  from  any  mere  desire  to  spend  money,  or  to  make  a  dis- 
play, that  the  Commissioners  have  seconded  the  architects  in 


54  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

their  determination  to  have  all  the  mechanical  work  required  on 
the  Park  done  in  the  very  best  possible  way  without  stinting, 
though  by  no  means  without  counting  the  cost.  But  it  has 
been  felt  that,  even  if  every  great  public  work  were  not  most 
cheaply  done  when  it  is  done  most  thoroughly  well,  here  was, 
beside,  an  opportunity  to  teach  many  lessons  to  American  me- 
chanics in  a  quiet  and  unpretending  way.  On  the  Park  our 
people  have  had  the  advantage  of  seeing  the  whole  operation  of 
building  these  admirable  roads,  which  have  never  thus  far  been 
even  approached  in  thoroughness  of  construction  and  fitness  for 
their  several  purposes,  on  this  side  of  the  \vater,  arid,  probably, 


8TAIR9   PBOM  CARRIAGE-ROAD  TO  LOWER  TERRACE. 


have  never  been  surpassed  anywhere.  Here,  also,  has  been  to 
study  from  the  beginning  the  best  masonry  that  the  skill  of  our 
own  and  of  foreign  workmen  can  produce;  and  all  over  the  Park, 
by  the  ingenious  management  and  prudent  forethought  of  the 
superintendent,  engineers,  and  architects,  backed  by  the  unfailing 
zeal  and  constant  watchfulness  of  the  Comptroller 'and  Treasurer, 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  55 

Andrew  II.  Green,  Esq.,  the  lesson  lias  been  taught  what  admir- 
able results  flow  from  faithful  work,  from  a  large  economy,  and 
from  strict  adherence  to  plans  elaborated  with  care,  and  proved 
wise  by  every  year's  added  experience. 

On  leaving  the  Hall  we  corrie  out  upon  the  lower  terrace 
between  the  two  great  stairs  that  descend  to  it  from  the  carriage- 
road.  These  staircases  have  been  designed  with  a  view  to  re- 
ceive a  great  deal  of  ornamented  sculpture,  and  much  of  it  has 
already  been  executed.  There  are,  of  course,  two  balustrades 
with  their  posts  and  ramps  to  each  of  the  two  staircases,  and 
the  four  have  been  made  emblematic  of  the  seasons.  On  the 
newel  posts  of  the  balustrades  are  carved  on  three  sides  the 
animals  and  fruits  that  belong  to  the  several  seasons — bees,  birds, 
butterflies,  grapes,  and  berries.  The  balustrades  themselves  are 
formed  of  panels  with  open  borders,  each  panel  being  filled  with 
a  flower  or  fruit  in  the  balustrades  belonging  to  Spring,  Summer, 
and  Autumn,  while  those  of  .Winter  are  prettily  designed  with 
the  leaves  arid  cones  of  evergreen,  and  in  one  of  them  is  a  pair 
of  skates.  All  these  panels  are  designed  with  the  idea  of  keep- 
ing as  close  to  nature  as  possible,  conventionalizing  the  objects 
no  more  than  has  been  necessary  to  bring  them  into  the  squares 
of  the  panels.  The  freest  and  most  elaborate  sculpture  has  been 
reserved  for  the  ramps  which  take  the  place  of  balustrades  be- 
tween the  first  landing  and  the  posts  at  the  head  of  the  stairs. 
The  designs  for  these  ramps  are  composed  of  flowing  scrolls, 
formed  by  the  branches  of  flowering  plants,  among  which  birds 
hover,  alight,  and  play.  On  no  public  building  in  America  has 
there  yet  been  placed  any  sculpture  so  rich  in  design  as  this,  or 
so  exquisitely  delicate  in  execution.  It  is  not  saying  as  much 
as  it  may  seem  to  declare  that  all  the  sculpture  on  the  walls  of 
the  new  Houses  of  Parliament  in  London,  is  not  worth,  either 
for  design  or  execution,  these  four  ramps  of  the  great  stairs  of 
the  Terrace  alone. 


I)  B  SO  II  IP T  I  OX    OF    THE 
oo 

The  lower  terrace  is  a  broad  and  cheerful  plaza,  giving  access 
to  the  Lake,  communicating  with  the  upper  park  by  two  foot- 


FOUNTAIN  ON    LUWE1I 


paths,  and  surrounded  by  a  low  wall  or  balustrade  of  carved 
stone,  along  which  runs  a  stone  seat.  In  the  centre  is  a  fountain 
basin  where  it  was  originally  intended  to  place  a  fountain  de- 
signed by  Miss  Stebbins,  but  we  are  under  the  impression  that 
some  change  has  taken  place  in  the  plans  of  the  Commissioners 
since  the  earlier  reports  were  issued,  in  one  of  which — the  eighth — 
1864,  an  engraving  was  published  of  the  design  then  determined 
on.  At  the  northern  side  of  this  plaza  is  the  station  for  the  boats, 
which  now  constitute  one  of  the  greatest  attractions  of  the  Park. 
At  either  side  is  planted  a  lofty  mast,  from  which  depends  a 
standard ;  on  one  of  these  is  embroidered  the  arms  of  the  State, 
and  on  the  other  the  arms  of  the  City — arms,  so-called,  though 
of  course  they  are  not  arms  at  all,  but,  as  in  the  case  of  every 
one  of  our  States,  and  of  all  our  cities,  that  pretend  to  them, 
they  are  nothing  but  an  incongruous  and  unartistic  assemblage 
of  supposed  emblems.  Such  as  they  are,  however,  they  are  sus- 
pended from  these  elegantly  ornamented  masts, 'designed  by  Mr. 
Mould.  The  boats,  which  now  number  twenty-five,  are  fastened 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 


57 


to  stakes  in  a  long  line  at  a  short  distance  from  the  shore — the 
keeper  and  his  men  occupying  a  small  house  on  the  water-edge 


BANNER  WITH  THE  ARMS  OF  THE  STATE. 


of  the  plaza.  Although  these  boats  are  much  used  in  the  sum- 
mer time,  and  the  charge  for  a  trip  round  the  Lake  is  very  small, 
yet  the  report  tells  us  that  the  contractor  makes  but  a  small  sum 
over  his  expenses.  The  boats  are  light  and  extremely  pretty, 
and  their  skilful  management  renders  them  perfectly  safe,'  no 


58 


DESCRIPTION    OF    T  II  K 


accident  of  any  kind  having  happened  in  the  use  of  them  since 
the  first  two  or  three  were  placed  on  the  Lake.     Moored  at  the 


BOAT    HOUSE  SOUTHWEST    END   OF   LAKE. 


eastern  end  of  the  Lake  the  visitor  will  see  the  Venetian  gondola, 
presented  to  the  Park,  in  1862,  by  John  A.  C.  Gray,  Esq.,  for- 
merly a  commissioner.  This  is  a  real  gondola  and  not  a  mere 
model,  but  it  is  not  used,  because  Mr.  Gray  did  not,  at  the  same 
time,  present  the  Commissioners  with  a  Venetian  gondolier  to 
manage  it!  However,  it  looks  sufficiently  romantic,  lying  in 
all  its  low,  black  length  upon  this  water  hardly  more  ruffled 
than  that  of  its  native  canals. 

There  are  six  landings  where  the  boats  can  stop  in  the  round 
trip,  either  to  take  up  or  to  leave  passengers.  These  landings 
are  pretty  structures,  differing  from  one  another  in  design,  and 
are  much  frequented  by  the  children,  who  sit  in  them  to  watch 
the  swans  and  snow-white  ducks  who  tamely  come  at  a  call. 
These  swans  form  an  unfailing  delight  to  all  young  persons  who 


NKW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  59 

visit  the  Park,  and,  indeed,  are  hardly  less  attractive  to  adults. 
In  March,  1860,  the  City  of  Hamburgh,    through  its  consul  to 


BOAT    HOl'SE    XEAll    KAMHI.K. 


America,  the  late  George  Kunhardt,  Esq.,  presented  to  the  Board 
of  Commissioners  twelve  of  the  beautiful  swans  for  which  that 
city  has  long  been  famous,  offering  at  the  same  time  to  send 
them  to  this  port  free  of  all  expense  of  transportation.  Mr. 
R  M.  Blatchford,  at  that  time  President  of  the  Board,  accepted 
the  generous  offer  with  the  cordial  thanks,  not  only  of  the  Com- 
missioners, but  of  the  whole  city ;  and  a  few  weeks  after  the 
birds  arrived  in  safety,  in  charge  of  a  person  sent  out  at  the 
expense  of  the  City  of  Hamburgh,  with  orders  to  remain  until 
they  were  thoroughly  domesticated ;  the  owner  of  the  steamer 
that  brought  him  over  having  volunteered  in  the  most  praise- 
worthy spirit  both  to  see  that  every  thing  in  the  power  of  her 
officers  was  done  to  insure  the  safe  transportation  of  the  swans, 
and  to  give  a  free  passage  home  to  the  person  having  them  in 
his  charge.  The  birds  -were  placed  in  the  Lake,  and  for  a  time 
seemed  to  thrive,  but  in  a  few  weeks  nine  of  them  had  died, 


60 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


from  apoplexy  as  was  afterward  proved,  though  at  first  it  was 
suspected  they  had  been  poisoned.  The  City  of  Hamburgh,  as 
soon  as  it  was  informed  through  its  consul  of  the  death  of  the 
swans,  presented  the  Commissioners  with  ten  more  ;  and  R  W. 
Kennard,  Esq.,  M.  P.,  an  esteemed  Englishman,  at  that  time 
living  in  New  York,  having  informed  the  "Worshipful  Company 
of  Vintners,  and  the  "Worshipful  Company  of  Dyers,  in  the  City 
of  London,  of  the  loss  the  citizens  of  New  York  had  sustained, 
the  former  of  these  companies  sent  over  twelve  pairs,  and  the 
latter  thirteen  pairs,  which  reached  America  in  safety  and  were 
placed  upon  the  Lake.  In  the  report  for  1862,  it  was  announced 
that  out  of  the  original  seventy-two  twenty-eight  had  died,  but 
since  that  time  no  additional  deaths  have  been  reported.  In  the 
report  for  1866  the  number  living  is  stated  to  be  fifty-one,  and 
in  the  last  report,  for  1867,  the  family  counts  sixty-four,  showing 

an  increase  of  twenty  in  five 
years,  from  which  we  may 
be  encouraged  to  hope  that 
these  beautiful  aristocrats  have 
learned  to  accommodate  them- 
selves to  our  trying  climate 
and  to  our  democratic  institu- 
tions. Beside  the  white  swans 
there  are  two  trumpeter  swans, 
who  also  have  bred  during  the 
past  year.  There  is  hardly  a 
prettier  sight  to  be  seen  than 
that  of  the  female  swan  sail- 
ing about  with  her  cygnets. 
The  mother-bird  assists  the 
little  blue-gray  youngsters  to 
mount  her  back,  either  by 
sinking  so  low  in  the  water  that  they  can  climb  up  without  diffi- 


8WAN-EE8T  ON  LAKE. 


NP1W    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 


61 


culty,  or  else  puts  out  one  of  her  legs  and  makes  a  step  for 
them.  She  then  raises  her  wings,  and  arches  back  her  neck, 
and  thus  makes  a  most  comfortable  shelter,  impervious  to  the 
wind,  in  which  the  baby  swans  sit  at  their  ease,  or  sleep,  or  look 
out  upon  the  landscape,  and,  no  doubt,  think  the  most  sweet  and 
innocent  thoughts. 

The  Park  swans  are  very  tame,  and  will  come  to  the  shore 
at  a  call  to  feed  from  any  hand,  although  we  believe  the  Com- 
missioners do  not  like  to  have  them  fed  in  this  way.  As  is 
well  known,  they  are  a  greedy  bird,  and  in  their  native  habi- 
tat, or  in  ponds  and  rivers  where  they  are  domesticated,  they 


BOAT  ROUSE  NEAR  OAK  BBrDGE. 


prey  upon  fish,  and  upon  the  eggs  of  fish,  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  make  themselves  the  terror  and  the  pest  of  enthusiastic  anglers. 


62  DESCRIPTION    OF    T  If  K 

Wood,  in  his  Natural  History,  quotes  one  of  this  class  as  burst- 
ing into  an  agony  of  depreciation  and  throwing  grammar  to  the 
winds : — "  There  never  was  no  manner  of  doubt  about  the  dread- 
ful mischief  the  swans  do!  They  eats  up  the  spawn  of  every 
kind  of  fish  till  they  have  filled  out  their  bags,  and  then  on  to 
shore  they  goes,  to  sleep  off  their  tuck  out,  and  then  at  it  again !" 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  Plan,  the  Lake  is  of  considerable'  size, 
and  extends  very  nearly  across  the  Park.  It  is  divided  into  two 
parts,  quite  distinct  in  their  character,  by  the  Bow  Bridge,  as  it 
is  called,  a  graceful  structure  of  iron  crossing  the  Lake  at  its 
narrowest  point  by  a  span  of  eighty-seven  feet  and  a  third,  and 
at  a  height  above  the  surface  of  nine  feet  and  a  half.  With  the 
exception  of  the  floor,  which  is,  of  course,  of  wood,  it  is  made 
entirety  of  wrought  iron,  resting  on  two  abutments  of  stone,  one 
of  the  ends  being  placed  upon  cannon-balls,  in  order  to  allow 
for  the  necessary  expansion  and  contraction  with  heat  and  cold. 


BOW  BRIDGE   FUOM   LAKE. 


At  the  ends  of  the  bridge,  over  the  abutments,  are  placed  iron 
vases,  which,  in  summer,  are  kept  filled  with  flowering  plants, 
and  it  is  not  without  reason  that  this  is  generally  considered  as 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK.  ^3 

the  handsomest  of  all  the  bridges  in  the  Park.  East  of  it  the 
Lake  is,  perhaps,  the  more  attractive.  On  one  side  is  the 
Terrace,  with  its  beautiful  architecture,  and  gay  crowds  of 
happy,  well-dressed  people,  its  stream  of  carriages  passing  over 
the  Terrace  bridge,  or  stopping  there  to  listen  to  the  band,  and 
along  the  shore  the  painted  boats  taking  and  discharging  their 
loads.  On  the  other  is  the  hill-side  called  the  Eamble,  with  its 
cheerful  scenery  in  summer-time,  and  its  blaze  of  colors  in  the 
autumn  season.  The  portion  of  the  Lake  that  lies  beyond  the 
Bow  Bridge,  to  the  west,  is  much  larger,  and  presents  less  variety, 
but,  to  many,  it  will  be  more  pleasing  on  that  account.  Here 
boys  may  fancy  themselves  at  sea,  and  hope,  by  some  lucky 
accident,  to  taste  the  terrors  of  shipwreck.  Here  there  are  some- 
times waves,  and  there  is  certainly  an  actual  beach,  where  such 
waves  as  there  may  happen  to  be  may  dash  themselves  in  break- 
ers. One  of  the  main  drives  that  starts  from  the  gate-way  at  the 
corner  of  the  Eighth  Avenue  and  Fifty-ninth  Street,  skirts  the 


VIEW  OF  LAKE  LOOKING  SOUTH. 


Lake  on  its  western  side,  and,  as  it  necessarily  passes  very  near 
the  boundary  of  the  Park  at  this  point,  the  aim  in  planting  has 
been  to  shut  off  the  Eighth  Avenue  and  open  up  the  Lake,  and 


(jj.  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

when  the  trees  and  shrubs  are  fully  grown  it  will  be  found  that 
this  has  been  accomplished  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to  do  it.  The 
visitor  will  then  find  himself  shut  in,  on  one  side  by  a  belt  of 
verdure,  while  on  the  other,  his  eye  will  be  irresistibly  attracted 
to  the  shining  levels  of  the  Lake,  where,  in  the  summer-time, 
the  darting  boats,  and  gliding  swans,  and  groups  of  children  on 
the  shore,  will  make  a  bright  and  cheerful  picture;  and  no  less 
gay  in  winter  will  be  the  thronging  crowds  of  skaters,  from  early 
morning  till  late  at  night,  under  the  brilliant  moon  or  the  more 
brilliant  calcium  light. 

The  Lake  is  the  principal  field  for  skaters  in  the  Park,  al- 
though the  Pond  near  Fifty-ninth  Street  is  much  used,  and,  in 
course  of  time,  Harlem  Lake,  at  the  northern  end,  will  become 
an  equally  favorite  resort  for  citizens  living  in  its  neighborhood.* 
The  teachings  of  Dr.  Dio  Lewis,  and  other  earnest  advocates  of 
physical  education,  about  ten  years  ago,  had  given  a  great  im- 
petus to  open-air  sports  and  athletic  games  in  Boston  and  its 
vicinity,  and  a  similar  interest  had  been  awakened  in  Philadel- 
phia. In  New  York,  Mrs.  Plumb  had  established  her  excellent 
gymnasium  for  women,  but  our  city  was  far  less  advantageously 
situated  than  Boston  for  sports  and  exercises  that  required  ample 
out-of-door  space  for  their  full  enjoyment.  The  exercise  was  good, 
but  it  failed  of  its  full  effect  in  restoring  or  maintaining  health 
when  it  had  to  be  taken  in  the  house.  Both  Boston  and  Phila- 
delphia had  the  great  advantage  over  New  York,  of  possessing, 

*  The  number  of  days  in  which  there  was  skating  in  1861-62. . .  .50 

"  "  1864-65 50 

"  "  1866-67 39 

"  "  1859-60 36 

"  "  1865-66 28 

"  "  1860-61 27 

"  "  "  1863-64 24 

"  "  1858-59... -.19 

"  "  '•  1862-63..    .   6 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 


65 


either  within  their  boundaries,  or  in  their  immediate  vicinity, 
abundant  room  for  any  exercise  that  might  be  in  fashion.  Bos- 
ton Common  had,  for  many  years,  given  the  city  boys  a  central 
and  convenient  place  for  play  with  sleds,  and  the  Frog-Pond, 
with  the  excellent  ponds  within  easy  access  of  the  city,  had 
enabled  everybody  who  wished  it  to  get  a  taste  of  skating  dur- 


BOW    BHIDGE   FROM   BEAOH. 


ing  the  season;  while,  in  Philadelphia,  the  Schuylkill  afforded 
an  incomparable  field  for  this  latter  exercise,  of  which  hundreds 
had  availed  themselves  every  winter  for  many  years,  and,  later, 
as  the  sport  became  more  fashionable,  and  skaters  counted  by 
thousands  rather  than  by  hundreds,  the  river  was  ready  with 
room  and  to  spare  for  all  who  chose  to  come. 

But  New  York  had  no  place  near  or  far-off  where  open- 
air  exercise  could  be  obtained,  and,  as  for  skating,  it  had  be- 
come an  almost  forgotten  art.  That  it  should  be  utterly  forgotten 
was,  of  course,  not  to  be  believed,  because  skating  must  be  sup- 
posed to  be  a  principle  in  Dutch  blood,  and  experience  has 
since  proved  that  in  this  instance,  as  in  many  others,  nature, 
although  driven  out  with  a  fork,  returns  in  full  force  at  the 

9 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


first  opportunity.  When  the  New  York  boys  and  girls  heard 
of  the  zeal  with  which  their  brothers  and  sisters  in  Boston  and 
Philadelphia  were  flying  over  the  face  of  the  earth  on  skates, 

they  were  moved  with  envy 
and  emulation,  and  in  default 
of  frozen  lakes  and  rivers, 
they  fastened  skates  with 
wheels  instead  of  sharpened 
steel  to  their  feet,  and  careered 
over  the  flagged  sidewalks  and 
over  parlor  floors,  with  the 
laudable  determination  to  en- 
joy skating  in  imagination  if 
they  could  not  in  reality. 
On  the  whole,  it  resembled 
the  real  thing  about  as  nearly 
as  the  marchioness's  orange- 
peel  and  water  did  wine.  u  If 

you  shut  your  eyes  very  tight"  said  that  young  person  to  Mr. 
Dick  Swiveller,  "and  make  believe  very  hard,  you  really  would 
almost  think  it  was  wine."  And  perhaps  young  New  York 
might  have  gone  on  making  believe  very  hard  that  skating  on 
wheels  was  as  good  as  skating  on  skates,  if  the  Commissioners 
had  not  asked  them  all  to  come  up  to  the  Park  and  try  the  real 
thing. 

In  their  tenth  report  (1866),  the  Commissioners  claim,  and, 
no  doubt,  rightly,  that  the  facilities  for  skating  so  freely  offered 
by  the  Central  Park,  have  set  the  fashion  to  New  York  and 
all  the  neighboring  region.  There  had  always  been,  every  win- 
ter, more  or  less  ice  accessible  to  the  rougher  part  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  even  to  more  fastidious  people,  who  were  willing  to 
go  in  search  of  it.  But  there  was  nowhere  to  be  found  ice  that 
was  kept  in  good  condition  for  skating  the  whole  season  through, 


LAKE  VIEW. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  57 

that  was  cleared  of  new-fallen  snow,  and  flooded  after  a  thaw, 
or  after  the  feet  of  hundreds  had  destroyed  its  surface.  No  pri- 
vate person  or  company  had  yet  been  found  willing  to  risk  the 
money  which  such  an  enterprise  would  call  for,  and,  indeed,  no 
one  had  even  suggested  that  such  an  enterprise  was  called  for, 
or  was  even  possible.  But  no  sooner  had  the  first  winter's  trial 
at  the  Central  Park  proved  the  perfect  feasibility  of  the  under- 
taking than  private  subscription  ponds  were  formed  in  every 
direction.  In  the  city  they  were  mostly  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Park,  and  were  made  by  flooding  the  sunken  lots  which 
so  abound  in  that  region.  These  were  then  boarded  up  in  order 
to  prevent  indiscriminate  access,  and  rough  buildings  were  put 
up  near  the  entrance,  to  accommodate  the  visitors,  who  were  all 
either  subscribers  for  the  season,  or  paid  a  fee  for  each  admis- 
sion. At  night  these  private  ponds,  like  those  of  the  Central 
Park,  were  illuminated  by  calcium  lights,  and  they  were  some- 
times supplied  with  music,  which  the  Park  was  not.  They 
drew  off,  of  course,  a  great  many  visitors  from  the  Park  skating 
grounds,  then  chiefly  of  the  wealthy,  and  many  ladies  and  young 
children ;  but  this  was  by  no  means  undesirable,  since  the  skat- 
ing grounds  of  the  Park  have  always  been,  from  the  beginning, 
overcrowded.  Nor  were  these  small  city  ponds  the  only  ones 
that  were  established  to  meet  the  new-found  want.  In  Brook- 
lyn, in  Hoboken,  along  the  line  of  the  Harlem  and  New  Haven 
Railroads,  ponds  were  advertised,  and  vied  with  one  another  in 
the  attractions  they  held  out  to  skaters.  Masquerades  were  held 
upon  the  ice ;  concerts  were  given ;  fireworks  were  displayed ; 
and  for  a  time  there  was  an  active  competition.  But,  as  will 
be  seen  by  the  table,  our  changeable  climate  makes  the  specula- 
tion a  too  uncertain  one  to  be  relied  upon  for  making  money. 
In  nine  years  it  will  be  seen  that  the  number  of  skating  days 
has  varied  all  the  way  from  six  to  fifty,  and  there  were  only 
two  years  in  the  nine  when  there  have  been  so  many  as  fifty. 


(Jg  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

Of  course  tins  uncertainty  makes  the  risk  too  great  to  be  run 
with  impunity,  and  only  persons  owning,  or  having  right  in, 
large  natural  ponds  can  afford  to  continue  these  enterprises. 
Beside,  the  sunken  lots  are  rapidly  being  built  up,  and  it  will 
not  be  long  before  they  will  disappear  altogether.  With  the 
Park  skating  grounds  it  is  quite  different.  It  requires  no  ad- 
ditional staff  of  workmen  to  keep  the  ice  in  condition  through 
the  season,  nor  any  addition  to  the  police  force  to  maintain  order. 
The  ponds  are  there,  and  the  arrangements  for  flooding  them  are 
simple  and  always  on  hand,  and  whatever  expense — never  very 
great — is  incurred  to  provide  skating,  is  for  the  public  service, 
and  makes  an  item  in  the  annual  budget.  Nor  can  the  pleasure 
that  is  given  to  so  many  thousands,  and  the  health  and  strength 
they  gain,  be  reckoned  in  money. 

While  we  are  upon  this  subject  it  may  be  worth  while  to 
notice  the  fact,  that  with  the  increased  opportunities  for  skating 
has  come  a  steady  improvement  in  the  skates  that  are  yearly 
offered  for  sale.  Skaters  are  now  as  much  exercised  over  the 
shape  and  material  of  their  instrument  as  horseback  riders  are 
over  their  saddles,  and  cricket-players  over  their  bats  and  balls. 
If  a  countryman  should  appear  to-day  upon  the  ground,  proud 
in  the  possession  of  a  pair  of  fine  old  skates,  inherited  from  his 
grandfather,  with  their  double-gutters,  multiplied  straps,  and  ends 
curling  up  over  the  instep  like  the  proboscis  of  some  gigantic 
butterfly,  we  shudder  to  think  of  the  persecution  of  inquisitive 
commentary  to  which  he  would  subject  himself.  The  little  boys 
who  officiate  as  skate-strappers  would  sit  in  awful  judgment  upon 
him.  The  ladies  would  pierce  him  through  and  through  with 
glances  of  playful  scorn,  and  he  would  learn  by  sad  experience 
how  soon  the  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away. 

The  northern  end  of  the  western  division  of  the  Lake  is 
reserved  for  the  use  of  ladies  who  come  to  skate,  although  they 
are  free  to  go  anywhere  they  may  please.  But  it  was  thought 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


69 


best   to   reserve   a  place   for  the   more  tirnid  and  delicate  ones, 
and   for   those,    also,    who   are  just  beginning  to   practise.     The 


LADIES'  SKATIXO  roxo. 


Ladies'  Pond  is  much  frequented,  but  the  men  are  by  no  means 
on  that  account  left  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  rest  of  the  Lake  in 
selfish  exclusiveness.  Here,  as  in  so  many  departments  of  our 
modern  social  life,  woman  competes  with  man  on  ground  in 
which  he  had  indulged  the  absurd  fancy  that  he  was  without 
a  rival,  and,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  either  carries  off  the 
palm  or  fairly  divides  the  victory. 

Our  Scotch  fellow-citizens  too  have  found  a  use  for  the  Lake 
in  winter,  and  the  curling  club  have  introduced  here  their  manly 
and  graceful  national  game.  Some  of  our  readers  may  remem- 
ber Mr.  J.  Gr.  Brown's  capital  portrait  picture  of  the  members 
of  this  club,  called  "Curling,  Central  Park,"  in  the  Academy 
exhibition  of  1863. 


ro 


D  K  S  C  H  I  P  T  I  0  X    OF    THE 


The  carriage-road  that  skirts  the  western  side  of  the  Lake 
crosses,  near  Seventy-seventh  Street,  a  narrow  strait  leading  from 
the  main  water  into  a  small  pond  close  to  the  Eighth  Avenue. 


The  bridge  by  which  the  drive  is  carried  over  this  connecting 
stream  is  called  the  Balcony  Bridge,  from  the  two  projecting 
balconies  with  stone  seats,  formed  by  corbelling  out  the  piers. 
These  are  pleasant  places  in  which  to  sit  and  overlook  the  Lake, 
and,  architecturally,  this  bridge  is  one  of  the  handsomest  in  the 
Park.  One  of  our  cuts  shows  the  view  looking  toward  Balcony 
Bridge  from  the  beach ;  the  one  a  little  farther  on  shows  the 
bridge  from  the  western  side,  which  has  no  balconies,  since  the 
view  on  that  side  is  so  limited  as  to  make  them  hardly  necessary. 
Returning  to  the  Terrace  for  a  fresh  start,  we  ascend  the  steps 
at  the  right  hand  from  the  lower  plaza  to  the  upper,  and  stop 
for  a  moment  to  look  at  the  bronze  statue  of  the  tigress  which 
has  been  recently  presented  to  the  Park  by  a  few  American 
gentlemen  temporarily  residing  in  Europe.  The  statue  will  be 
found  on  a  little  slope  west  of  the  Terrace  and  very  near  it. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


71 


In  ascending  to  it  we  may  notice  at  the  right  hand  the  two 
specimens  of  the  "  Great  Tree  "  of  California  (sequoia,  gigantea), 
both  of  which  appear  to  be  thriving  well;  and  near  the  summit 


BALCONY   BRIDGE. 


of  the  knoll  are  two  well-grown  specimens  of  the  Japanese  sacred 
tree,  the  Ginkgo,  or  maiden-hair  (salisburia  adiantifolio),  which 
has  been  a  rare  tree  in  this  country  until  within  a  very  few 
years.  For  a  long  time  the  only  specimens  in  this  part  of 
America  were  the  original  plants  at  The  Woodlands,  formerly 
the  seat  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  Esq.,  near  Philadelphia,  by 
whom  it  was  first  introduced  into  this  country,  in  1784;  those 
in  the  old  Bartram  Garden,  near  Philadelphia;  one  that  stood 
on  Boston  Common,  and  still  stands  there,  if  the  climate 
have  not  proved  too  severe  for  it ;  and,  finally,  a  specimen  at 
Pierce's  Park,  near  Westchester,  Pennsylvania.  It  has  long 
been  a  puzzle  to  botanists,  who  have  been  unable  to  classify  it, 


72 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THK 


but  Mr.  Josiah  Hoopes,  in  his  recently  published  and  very  val- 
uable "  Book  of  Evergreens,"  places  it  among  the  Coniferae  on 
the  strength  of  its  fruit,  which  he  says  settles  the  question.  It 
is  a  very  rapid  growing  tree,  is  exceedingly  elegant  in  its  shape 
and  in  its  foliage,  and  when  these  specimens  in  the  Park  once 
assume  a  sufficient  size  to  attract  general  attention,  we  shall 
hope  to  see  the  Ginkgo  become  as  familiar  a  denizen  of  our 
gardens  as  are  so  many  plants  and  trees  of  China  and  Japan. 


BALCONY   BRIDGE   FROM   THK   BEACH. 


It  has  been  several  times  proposed  to  establish  in  the  Park 
an  Arboretum,  or  a  Botanical  Garden,  and  the  notion  is  not  a 
bad  one,  or  would  not  be,  if  the  Park  were  two  or  three  times 
as  large  as  it  is.  But,  to  our  thinking,  it  is  quite  as  agreeable 
a  way  of  studying  the  different  varieties  of  plants,  and  trees, 
and  flowers,  to  find  them  scattered  over  the  whole  Park,  as 
it  would  be  to  have  them  planted  more  scientifically  in  rows 
and  squares,  as  for  convenience  of  classification  and  reference 
they  must  be  in  a  botanic  garden.  For  our  part,  we  like  to 
come  upon  these  pretty  strangers  unawares;  to  catch  them,  as 
it  were,  off  their  guard,  rather  than  to  go  through  the  for- 
malities of  an  introduction — 


NEWYORKCENTRALPARK.  73 

"in  arbors  dipt  and  cut,  - 
And  alleys,  faded  places. 

By  squares  of  tropic  summer  shut 
And  warmed  in  crystal  cases." 

The  limits  of  the  Park  are,  at  best,  so  narrow  that  it  seems 
a  pity  to  make  them  seem  still  more  contracted  by  dividing 
the  space  into  districts  or  departments,  especially  into  such 
formal  ones  as  all  strictly  scientific  collections  make  necessary. 
Rather,  in  this  particular  case,  make  the  whole  Park  a  botani- 
cal garden,  giving  each  plant  as  far  as  possible,  its  native  habitat 
and  surroundings,  and  fixing  near  it,  in  a  quiet,  informal  way, 
a  label  with  its  name.  The  scientific  man  and  the  poet  can 
then  enjoy  it,  each  in  his  own  way. 

On  the  summit  of  the  slight  eminence  to  which  we  have 
ascended,  chatting  about  trees,  we  find  the  bronze  statue  of 
the  tigress  bringing  food  to  her  cubs,  which  we  came  to  see. 
It  is  the  production  of  the  celebrated  Auguste  Caine,  and  was 
cast  in  bronze  by  the  equally  distinguished  F.  Barbadienne, 
whose  magnificent  enamels  were  without  a  rival  in  the  recent 
Exposition,  at  Paris.  This  bronze  was  presented  to  the  Park 
in  1867,  in  a  letter  to  A.  H.  Greene,  Esq.,  the  Comptroller, 
by  twelve  gentlemen,  citizens  of  New  York.  It  is  six  feet 
high  and  seven  and  half  feet  in  length,  and  stands,  at  present, 
upon  a  temporary  pedestal  of  wood.  We  can-not  agree  with 
those  who  think  such  figures  as  this  of  the  Tigress,  and  that 
of  the  Eagles  bringing  their  prey  to  their  young,  particularly 
suitable  to  the  Park.  They  are,  both  of  them,  fine  and  spirited 
works  of  their  kind,  but  they  are//«iuch  better  suited  to  a  zoo- 
logical garden  than  to  a  place  Irke  the  Park,  for  the  ideas  they 
inspire  do  not  belong  to  the  tranquil,  rural  beauty  of  the  Park 
sceneiy.  They  are  not,  to  our  thinking,  a  whit  more  appro- 
priate than  the  funeral  monuments  would  be  which  the  Com- 
missioners so  wisely  and  absolutely  refuse  to  admit.  Indeed, 
10 


74  DESCRIPTION    OF   THE 

if  it  were  not  for  the  sake  of  establishing  a  dangerous  prece- 
dent, it  might  be  far  less  objectionable  to  admit  some  funeral 
monuments  that  one  might  name  than  to  give  room  to  these 


THE  TIGKESS. 


savage  subjects.  There  have  been  glorious  deaths — fit  endings 
to  noble  lives — whose  records  could  only  inspire  high  and  cheer- 
ful thoughts,  fitted  to  any  scene  in  nature,  however  beautiful  or 
grand;  but  sculpture  of  the  class  to  which  the  pieces  we  have 
mentioned  belong,  has  little  that  is  elevating  in  its  tendency. 
The}'  are  simply  records  of  carnage  and  rapine,  and  however 
masterly  the  execution,  or  however  profound  the  scientific  ob- 
servation they  display,  they  are  apart  from  the  purpose  of  noble 
art,  whose  aim  is  to  lift  the  spirit  of  man  to  a  higher  region  and 
feed  him  with  grander  thoughts. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  75 

There  is  no  cue  among  the  many  difficult  subjects  almost 
daily  presented  to  the  Park  authorities  for  consideration,  more 
difficult  than  the  limit  to  be  placed  to  the  admission  of  sculpture 
into^the  Park.  To  persons  who  have  not  given  much  thought 
to  the  matter  it  may  seem  that  the  easiest,  and  also  the  wisest, 
thing  the  Commissioners  could  do,  would  be  to  take  every  piece 
of  statuary  that  is  offered  them,  that  has  any  merit  whatever,  and 
find  a  place  for  it  somewhere  in  the  Park.  But  to  this  the  Com- 
missioners very  properly,  as  it  appears  to  us,  demur.  In  the  first 
place,  they  do  not  want  any  statuary  at  all,  unless  it  is  the  best 
that  can  be  produced.  Looking  upon  the  Park  as  they  do,  not 
merely  as  a  place  of  amusement,  but  as  a  place  of  education, 
they  have  always  considered  it  a  matter  of  conscience  to  ex- 
clude every  thing  that  falls  short  of  the  standard  they  have 
proposed  to  themselves.  It  may  be  very  difficult  to  get  good 
statuary;  they  may  have  to  wait  a  long  time  for  it;  but  they 
cannot  see  in  either  of  these  suppositions  any  argument  for 
permitting  the  precedent  of  placing  second-rate  or  indifferent 
works  of  art  in  the  Park  until  the  good  works  shall  arrive. 
The  Commissioners  were  probably  not  much  delighted  at  the 
prospect  of  having  a  statue  of  Shakspeare  in  the  Park,  for  it 
was  extremely  unlikely  that  a  good  one  could  be  procured. 
Probably  no  living  sculptor  could  have  succeeded  better — we 
do  not  know  one  who  could  have  succeeded  so  well — as  Mr. 
Ward  has  done,  but  the  difficulty  of  the  task  is  so  immeasur- 
able that  to  have  succeeded  at  all  is  something  both  the  artist 
and  the  public  must  be  congratulated  upon.  Even  such  small 
matters  as  the  bust  of  Schiller  and  the  Bronze  Eagles  (although 
the  latter  is,  as  we  have  said,  not  inappropriate  to  the  zoologi- 
cal garden),  must  have  placed  the  Commissioners  in  something 
of  a  dilemma  On  the  one  hand,  they  could  not,  without  offence, 
decline  the  gifts — it  seems  to  be  a  settled  principle  to  accept  the 
smallest  favors,  from  the  skeleton  of  a  negro  to  a  copper  medal 


DESCRIPTION    OF    T  II  K 


advertising  a  soda-fountain  manufacturer— and  on  the  other,  they 
could  not  but  feel  that  the  gifts  themselves  were  not  particularly 
desirable  possessions.  In  time  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  pride 


BUST   OF   SCHILLER. 


of  the  Germans  in  their  second  great  national  poet  will  lead  them 
to  replace  the  present  very  unsatisfactory  memorial  of  him  with 
a  worthy  statue ;  and  in  time  it  will  also  be  easy  to  remove  the 
spirited  bronze  of  the  "Eagles  Devouring  their  Prey"  to  a  more 
suitable  place  in  the  Zoological  Garden,  but  it  must  be  evident 
that  the  Commissioners  cannot  be  always  accepting  costly,  if  not 
valuable  gifts,  which  they  are  obliged  to  get  rid  of,  or  to  dis- 
pose of  in  some  way,  however  inconvenient.  They  are,  there- 
fore, obliged  to  be  very  chary  in  accepting  gifts,  by  no.  means 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  77 

ready  to  encourage  them,  and  to  .maintain  an  independent  atti- 
tude to  those  who  offer,  tiienu  .  For  it'  is  a  trait  observed  in  all 
persons  .who.  come  .to  the  Park  with  .-gifis.  in,  their,  hands  .that, 
with  rare  exceptions,  they  consider  themselves  as  placing,  not 
the  Park  alone,  but  the  whole  body  of  citizens,  under  great 
obligations,  and  they  think  the  least  that  can  be  done  to  show 
a  proper  sense  of  that  obligation  is,  to  give  their  special  gifts 
the  most  conspicuous  place  that  can  be  selected.  These  de- 
mands have,  no  doubt,  often  placed  the  Commissioners  in  a 
position  of  great  difficulty,  and  yet  they  are  obliged  to  meet 
the  responsibility,  and  settle  the  matter  in  the  best  way  they 
can,  with  an  eye  solely  to  the  interests  of  the  Park.  Thus  far 
there  has  not  been  a  single  piece  of  statuary  presented  to  the 
Park  and  placed  in  it  that  it  is  at  all  desirable  to  have  there.  The 
statue  of  Commerce,  presented  in  1865,  by  Stephen  B.  Guion, 
Esq.,  a  native  of  New  York  long  resident  in  Liverpool,  is  a 
mere  commonplace  emblematic  figure,  such  as  are  all  the  time 
being  produced  in  French  studios,  but  which  have  very  little 
meaning  or  interest  for  the  great  mass  of  people,  and  for  artists 
none  at  all  of  either.  Yet,  what  are  the  Commissioners  to  do? 
A  much  respected  gentleman,  animated  by  a  praiseworthy  desire 
to  do  something  for  the  adornment  of  his  native  city,  orders  this 
statue  from  Fesquet — a  clever  French  statuary — and  in  the  quiet- 
est, most  modest  way  possible,  presents  it  to  the  Park,  without 
imposing  any  conditions,  without  asking  for  any  particular  site, 
without  even  attaching  his  name  to  the  gift.  It  certainly  is  very 
much  to  be  wished  that  the  respected  donor  had  given  us  some- 
thing else ;  that  he  had  ordered,  for  instance,  Quincy  Ward  to 
put  his  Indian  Hunter  into  bronze,  or  had  given  a  commission 
to  Story,  or  to  Brown,  or  to  Launt  Thompson;  but,  as  he  did 
not  do  any  of  these  thingsj  we  must  make  the  most  of  the  gift 
he  has  presented.  It  has  accordingly  been  placed  near  the  en- 
trance ,  at  the  southwestern,  angle,  .at'-  the  -Park^Eighth  -  Avenue 


78 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


and  Fifty-ninth  Street — where  will  one  day  be  the  Merchants' 
Gate,  and  among  the  emblems  that  will  find  an  appropriate  place 
in  the  architecture  of  this  gate,  perhaps  the  statue  of  Commerce 


STATUE  OK   COMMERCE. 


may  occupy  a  conspicuous  position.  Just  at  present  it  stands 
entirely  unrelated  to  any  thing  that  surrounds  it,  and  no  statue 
so  situated  can  possibly  be  fairly  judged. 

To  the  bronze  figure  of  the  Tigress  we  have  already  alluded. 
It  is  undoubtedly  a  work  of  merit  in  its  way,  belonging  to  a 
class  of  sculpture  far  removed  from  the  heroic  or  the  ideal,  and 
only  calculated  to  give  a  transient  and  not  elevated  'pleasure. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  79 

With  the  purpose  the  architects  have  had  in  view  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  Terrace  it  would  not  have  been  possible,  with- 
out inconsistency,  to  give  this  statue  a  conspicuous  place  in  rela- 
tion to  the  Terrace,  and  indeed  it  is  not  easy  to  see  whereabouts 
in  the  Park  it  can  be  conspicuously  placed  at  all.  It  has.  there- 
fore, been  set  up  in  a  secluded  spot,  shut  off  from  general 
observation  by  a  screen  of  trees,  and  while  placed  so  that  who- 
ever chooses  to  seek  it  can  see  thoroughly  well  all  that  there  is 
of  it,  it  does  not  in  the  least  interfere  with  the  artistic  arrange- 
ment of  the  Terrace  and  its  surroundings.  Bat  its  proper  place 
is  not  here  at  all ;  it  is,  as  we  have  said,  in  the  Zoological  Garden, 
of  which  it  would  make  a  very  attractive  and  appropriate  orna- 
ment. 

It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  the  whole  subject  of  sculpture  in 
the  Park  is  beset  with  difficulties,  and  that  the  Commissioners  have 
more  than  any  mere  personal  interests,  whether  of  their  own  or  of 
other  people,  to  consult.  For,  apart  from  the  question  of  good 
or  bad  sculpture,  is  the  problem  how  to  limit  its  introduction  to 
such  a  point  that  it  shall  not  detract  from  the  apparent  size  of 
the  Park;  a  most  serious  consideration.  Many  of  our  readers 
must  have  had  the  opportunity  of  observing  how  quickly  the 
apparent  size  of  a  garden  is  reduced  by  the  introduction  of  statu- 
ary, which  it  was  at  one  time  the  fashion  to  use  much  more  freely 
than  has  been  done  since  the  "natural  style"  of  gardening  came 
into  vogue.  Not  only  is  the  area  of  the  garden  or  lawn  so  orna- 
mented diminished  to  the  eye,  but  walks  and  roads  along  which 
statuary  is  placed  are  visibly  shortened.  Both  these  facts  are  no 
less  facts  for  being  optical  delusions,  which  are  the  result  of  a 
well-known  natural  law.  They  are  delusions  constantly  taken 
into  account  in  decorative  design,  and  cannot  safely  be  neg- 
lected. Their  bearing  on  the  question  of  the  Park  is  plain. 
The  area  of  the  Park,  however  large  it  may  sound  when  stated 
to  the  ear,  or  however  it  may  seem  on  paper,  is  in  proportion 


80  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

to  the  population  that  is  to  use  it,  by  no  means  so  large  as  it 
seems  to  the  superficial  observer.  And  this  process  must  con- 
tinue ;  the  Park  growing  sensibly  smaller  and  smaller  with  every 
conspicuous  object  that  is  placed  in  it  giving  the  eye  a  means 
of  measurement,  until,  at  length,  its  real  dimensions  cannot  any 
longer  be  concealed.  Any  visitor  to  the  Park  who  chooses  to  ob- 
serve, can  see  this  process  going  on  everywhere  within  its  limits. 
Every  summer-house  that  is  built  on  rising  ground,  the  new  Spa, 
the  ugly  gate-houses  of  the  Reservoir — another  feat  in  ornamental 
architecture  of  our  friends,  the  engineers — the  Children's  Shelter, 
the  Belvidere  that  is  to  be — each  of  these  structures  draws  the 
eye  to  itself  from  a  distance,  and  suggests  a  limit,  a  bound.  This 
would  be  all  very  well  if  the  distances  in  the  Park  were  really 
grand,  if  calling  attention  to  a  limit  was  equivalent  to  saying, 
"see,  how  far!"  But  when  the  unfortunate  shape  of  the  Park 
is  considered,  its  narrowness,  which  no  amount  of  planting,  how- 
ever judiciously  done,  can  ever  hope  to  make  entirely  forgotten; 
its  pronounced  division  into  two  parts,  a  defect  only  to  be  made 
the  best  of,  not  to  be  got  rid  of;  it  will  be  seen  that  the  one  thing 
to  be  avoided,  is  the  calling  attention  to  limits  which  can  only 
mean,  "see,  how  near!"  And  when  we  have  thoroughly  under- 
stood the  serious  nature  of  the  problem  thus  presented  to  the 
Commissioners,  we  shall  appreciate  the  force  of  their  objection  to 
multiplying  statues,  and  not  merely  statues,  but  objects  of  any 
kind  that  do  not  serve  some  necessaiy  purpose,  or  that  do  not 
tend  to  assist,  but  rather  interfere  with,  their  plans  for  the  deco- 
ration of  the  Park  on  the  highest  artistic  principles. 

We  imagine  that  under  any  circumstances,  even  if  the  Park 
were  a  great  deal  larger  than  it  is,  the  truest  taste  would  dictate 
that  there  should  be  as  few  artificial  objects  in  it  as  possible. 
The  charm  of  the  Park  ought  to  consist  chiefly  in  its  broad 
stretches  of  green  grass,  its  lakes,  and  pools,  and  streams,  its  fine 
trees,  its  shrubs  and  abundant  flowers,  and  the  skv  that  over- 


N  E  W    YORK    CENT  II  ALPARK.  81 

arclies  and  encloses  all.  Those  who  are  all  the  week  "in  popu- 
lous city  pent,"  see  in  their  daily  walks  enough  architecture  and 
enough  statuary ;  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  of  all  that  is 
artificial,  and  far  too  little  of  natural  beauty.  The  best  archi- 
tecture and,  indeed,  the  best  art  of  whatever  kind,  can  never  be 
fully  appreciated  or  enjoyed  by  those  who  have  no  familiarity 
with  nature.  The  Park  is  only  a  blessing  and  a  means  of  educa- 
tion, in  proportion  as  it  gives  an  opportunity  to  men,  women, 
and  children  to  become  unconsciously  familiar  with  the  large 
traits  of  earth  and  sky.  And  no  substantial  good  is  done  by 
crowding  the  prospect  with  what  are  called  works  of  art.  For 
if  it  be  true,  as  our  poet  has  sung, — 

— "no  mountain  can 
Measure  with  a  perfect  man," 

it  is  also  true  that  no  material  work  of  man  can  measure  with 
a  mountain ;  nature  gives  us  the  scale  by  which  to  gauge  every 
creation  of  art.  And  we  are  sure  that  a  great  deal  of  the  petty 
and  narrow  criticism  of  the  day  would  be  enlarged,  grow  higher 
and  broader,  if  it  were  written  under  the  sky  rather  than  under 
a  roof.  And  our  art  would  grow  also,  if  both  those  who  pro- 
duce it,  and  those  for  whom  it  is  produced,  lived  in  greater 
familiarity  with  nature.  The  great  danger  is,  lest  the  Park 
should  come  to  be  looked  upon  merely  as  a  place  wherein  are 
collected  a  large  number  of  curious  and  rare,  or  pretty  things, 
which  would,  it  is  true,  be  a  recommendation  to  a  museum,  or 
to  a  garden  of  plants  or  animals,  but  is  not  proper  to  a  park. 
A  park  is  a  place  of  rest  and  recreation  for  mind  and  body ;  and 
while  nature  soothes  and  tranquillizes  the  mind,  and  thus  gives 
the  body  that  repose  it  needs,  a  number  of  petty  objects,  merely 
curious  or  pleasing,  distracts  the  thoughts  and  frets  the  nerves. 
Of  course,  in  a  large  public  place,  many  tastes  must  be  consid- 
ered, and  many  wants  ministered  to,  and  we  make  no  objections 
11 


82 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


to  a  richly  adorned  centre,  such  as  is  proposed  in  the  Terrace, 
where  ample  room  is  provided  for  all  the  really  worthy  works 
of  art  that  are  likely  to  be  produced  here  in  a  hundred  years; 
but  we  plead  for  the  preservation,  as  far  as  possible,  of  largeness 


BIRD   CAGE. 


and  simplicity,  for  the  greatest  amount  of  unobstructed  lawn,  for 
trees,  and  shrubbery,  and  flowers;  for  lakes  and  streams;  in 
short,  for  as  much  of  nature  as  we  can  get  for  money,  and  for 
a  very  little  art,  and  that  only  of  the  choicest  and  best. 

But,  lest  the  reader  should  think  we  have  brought  him  up 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 


83 


this  pretty  hillock,  not  so  much  to  see  the  statue  of  the  Tigress 
as  to  hear  a  lecture,  we  offer  him  our  convoy  down  again  and 
across  the  plaza  to  the  Casino,  or  Ladies'  Refreshment  House, 
where,  as  that  intended  for  gentlemen  is  not  yet  built,  we  must 


FOUNTAIN-. 


content  ourselves  with  whatever  airy  food  is  provided  for  the 
gentler  sex.  On  our  way  thither  we  stop  for  a  moment  to 
watch  the  play  of  the  two  fountains,  or  of  the  birds  in  their 
gilded  cages,  or  to  drink  from  one  of  these  elegant  basins  of 
bronze  and  polished  granite,  whose  never-failing  streams  of  iced 
water  are  in  such  constant  demand  through  the  long  summer 
days.  But  we  may  all  drink  our  fill,  for  the  great  reservoirs 


&4  D  E  S  0  R  I  P  T  I  O  X    0  F    T  H  E 

yonder  are  our  inexhaustible  cisterns,  and  beneath  our  feet  are 
deep  pits  filled  with  blocks  of  ice,  over  which  the  water  flows 
before  it  falls  into  these  cool  basins. 

The  fountains  on  the  plaza  are  extremely  pretty,  and  curious 
beside.  There  has  been  no  attempt  to  show  us  large  streams  of 
water  rising  to  a  great  height.  Such  jets  would  not  be  suitable 
to  this  situation,  for  one  reason  among  others,  that  the  area  of 
the  plaza  is  not  very  large,  and,  as  it  is  often  filled  with  people, 
the  wind  blowing  the  spray  about,  would  produce  a  good  deal 
of  discomfort.  These  lighter  and  more  graceful  fountains  have 
therefore  been  introduced,  and  they  are  found  to  be  equally  in- 
teresting to  grown  philosophers  as  to  children.  They  are  in  fact 
philosophical  toys,  and  one  of  them,  at  least,  presents  a  problem 
that  has  never  yet  been  satisfactorily  solved.  A  little  hollow 
ball  of  metal,  perforated  here  and  there  over  its  whole  surface 
with  small  holes,  is  seen  to  dance  the  whole  day  long  upon  the 
end  of  a  slender  perpendicular  jet  of  water.  Nothing  can  be 
more  graceful  than  the  light  balancing  of  this  ball,  and  much 
debate  does  the  fancy  trifle  give  rise  to  among  bearded  men  who 
are  quite  above  all  suspicion  of  being  amused  with  the  toy  at 
which  the  merry  circle  of  eager  children  clap  their  hands  and 
laugh  with  unrestrained  delight.  The  other  fountains  are  on  a 
different  principle,  allied,  perhaps,  to  that  which  gives  motion 
to  the  familiar  firework-wheels  and  serpents.  Small  jets  are 
made  of  pieces  of  brass  tubing  variously  curved,  and  radiating 
from  a  common  centre  with  which  they  all  communicate.  One 
of  these  is  set  upon  the  end  of  the  upright  fountain  pipe,  and 
as  soon  as  the  water  is  let  on  it  sets  the  wheel  to  spinning,  and 
once  in  motion  it  continues  to  move  until  the  water  is  drawn  off. 
The  principle  once  discovered  is  capable  of  a  great  variety  of 
applications,  and  a  good  deal  of  ingenuity  has  been  shown  in 
the  devising  of  new  jets. 

Lord  Bacon,  in  his  essay,  "  Of  Gardens/'  speaks  of  these  toy 


XEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  85 

fountains  as  if  they  were  not  uncommon  in  his  time: — "And  for 
fine  Devices,  of  Arching  Water  without  Spilling,  and  Making 
it  rise  in  severall  Formes  (of  Feathers,  Drinking  Glasses,  Cano- 
pies, and  the  like)  they  be  pretty  things  to  looke  on,  but  Nothing 
to  Health  and  Sweetnesse."  Tennyson,  too,  in  his  "Princess," 
published  in  1848,  thus  sings  of  these  toys: — 

"For  all  the  sloping  pasture  murmured  sown 
With  happy  faces  and  with  holiday. 
There  moved  the  multitude,  a  thousand  heads : 
The  patient  leaders  of  their  Institute 
Taught  them  with  facts.     One  reared  a  font  of  stone 
And  drew,  from  butts  of  water  on  the  slope, 
The  fountain  of  the  moment,  playing  now 
A  twisted  snake,  and  now  a  rain  of  pearls, 
Or  steep-up  spout  whereon  the  gilded  ball 
Danced  like  a  wisp." 

At  one  end  of  the  plaza  we  see  a  number  of  light  iron  chairs 
piled  up,  and  in  charge  of  them  a  man  who  informs  us  that  they 
are  to  be  hired  for  a  trifling  sum  by  any  one  who  wishes  a  seat 
This  is  the  system  pursued  abroad,  as  many  of  our  readers  will 
remember,  but  the  admirable  police  regulations  of  the  Central 
Park  do  .not  permit  the  entrapping  of  unwary  visitors  that  is 
practised  in  the  London  parks — in  the  St.  James',  as  we  know 
by  experience,  and  as  we  heard  in  others.  In  the  St.  James' 
Park  the  enterprising  lessee  sets  seats  about  at  various  points 
removed  from  his  main  stand,  and  taking  good  care  not  to  affix 
any  sign  or  mark  by  which  the  stranger  may  know  that  they 
are  private  property,  he  then  retires  to  his  stand,  and  assuming 
a  nonchalant  or  pre-occupied  air,  watches  with  unremitting  vigi- 
lance the  approach  of  his  unconscious  victim.  That  person  being 
a  rural  Englishman  or  a  travelling  American,  seeing  a  chair 
agreeably  planted  under  a  shady  tree,  seats  himself  carelessly  in 
it,  and  draws  out  of  his  pocket  a  book  to  beguile  the  hour.  No 
sooner  has  he  become  absorbed  in  his  reading  than  he  is  roused 


8(3  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

by  the  presence  of  an  unattractive  man,  who,  grinning  maliciously, 
draws  open  Lis  coat  in  an  ostentatious  manner  and  displays  a  large 
badge  on  which  is  inscribed  the  information  that  he  is  the  owner 
of  the  chair  on  which  the  stranger  is  seated,  and  that  he  expects 
to  be  paid,  then  and  there,  for  the  use  of  the  same.  The  English 
or  Continental  visitor  being  used  to  varied  and  perpetual  pay- 
ments exacted  for  any  thing  and  every  thing,  at  once  complies 
with  the  demand  and  gets  rid  of  the  bore ;  but  the  annoyed  Ameri- 
can, disgusted  with  the  srnallness  of  the  sixpenny-extorting  de- 
vice, is  Quixotic  enough  to  resist  and  argue.  The  infuriated 
spider,  who  has  never  before  met  with  a  remonstrating  fly,  coaxes, 
wheedles,  blusters,  swears,  and  threatens,  but,  being  met  with 
that  serenity  which  alsvays  marks  the  demeanor  of  those  who 
wage  war  for  principle,  and  finding  that  the  penny  for  which  he 
had  so  elaborately  plotted  shows  no  intention  of  emerging  from 
the  seclusion  of  its  owner's  pocket,  he  begins  a  warlike  dance 
accompanied  with  the  snapping  of  his  fingers  by  way  of  casta- 
nets, and,  foaming  with  rage,  proceeds  to  deny  to  that  owner 
any  right  to  the  sacred  name  of  gentleman.  The  last  seen  of 
him  by  the  American  as  he  quietly  walks  away,  having  given 
the  sixpence  to  one  of  the  million  beggars  wdio  are  always  on 
the  qiii  vive  in  London,  and  who  are  by  no  means  always 
dressed  in  rags,  he  is  dancing  a  series  of  pirouettes  in  front 
of  the  empty  seat,  that  for  the  first  time,  perhaps,  in  his  ex- 
perience, has  failed  to  catch  the  expected  prey. 

The  Commissioners  of  the. Central  Park  have  wisely  prevented 
the  possibility  of  any  such  small  but  irritating  annoyances  as  this 
within  the  limits  of  their  jurisdiction.  They  would,  doubtless, 
prefer  that  every  thing  in  the  Park  should  be  freely  enjoyed  by 
the  visitors ;  but,  since  the  means  at  their  disposal  do  not  permit 
this  in  all  cases,  they  have  done  all  that  can  be  done  to  prevent 
any  misunderstanding  as  to  fees,  and  to  make  them  so  small 
that  hardly  any  one  need  feel  himself  deprived  of  a  simple 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  87 

pleasure  by  its  cost.  We  suppose  they  would  be  glad  to  ex- 
ercise more  control  than  is  permitted  them  over  the  hacks  that 
carry  strangers  round  the  Park,  and  this  may  come  in  time; 
meanwhile  they  prevent  the  rapacity  of  the  drivers  to  the  ex- 
tent allowed  them,  and  the  stranger  may  be  sure  of  hospitable 
treatment  from  every  one  within  the  gates.  A  small  charge  is 
made  for  the  use  of  the  boats  on  the  Lake,  and  for  the  chairs — 
although  these  are  an  experiment,  hardly  adopted  as  yet  for  a 
permanence.  Beside  these  and  the  carriages,  which  do  not  be- 
long to  the  Park,  there  is  nothing  except  refreshments  that  the 
visitor  may  not  freely  enjoy.  No  shows  of  any  kind  are  allowed 
on  the  Park  grounds;  no  jugglers,  gamblers — except  those  dis- 
guised as  gentlemen — puppet-shows,  pedlers  of  flowers,  players 
upon  so-called  musical  instruments,  ballad-singers,  nor  hand-organ 
men ;  in  fact  none  of  the  great  army  of  small  persecutors  who  tor- 
ment the  outside  world,  can  enter  into  this  pleasant  place  to  make 
us  miserable  in  it.  Nor  is  there  to  be  found  a  guide  in  the  whole 
Park.  If  you  want  to  be  directed,  you  can  ask  you]'  way  of  a 
policeman,  who  would  lose  his  place  if  he  were  known  to  take 
a  fee.  If  you  like  to  be  lost  j-ou.are  at  liberty  to  do  so,  and 
every  year  a  hundred  or  so  little  children  exercise  that  precious 
privilege,  and  are  returned  to  their  tranquil  parents  without  loss 
of  time,  and  without  expense  to  anybody.  No  one  who  has  not 
been  in  England  or  on  the  Continent  can  know  how  great  a  bless- 
ing it  is  to  have  got  rid  of  that  ubiquitous  nuisance,  a  guide ;  to 
be  able  to  go  where  one  wills ;  to  see,  or  not  to  see ;  to  sit  and 
muse,  to  sit  and  read,  without  having  superfluous  advice  thrust 
upon  one,  or  being  obliged  to  receive  information  for  which  he 
has  no  natural  appetite,  and  to  hear  questions  answered  that  he 
has  never  asked. 

The  Casino  is  a  pretty  domestic-looking  little  cottage,  planted 
upon  the  rising  ground  east  of  the  plaza,  and  designed  as  a 
Ladies'  House  of  Refreshment.  There  are  two  large  rooms, 


88 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


one  at  eacli  end,  connected  by  a  long  apartment '  opening  upon 
a  central  piazza.  Here  one  can  procure  almost  any  kind  of 
light  refreshment,  every  thing  provided,  as  in  ordinary  restau- 


THE  CASINO   FROM   THE  EAST. 


rants,  being  at  a  fixed  price  clearly  stated  in  the  bill  of  fare. 
The  visitor  will,  we  dare  say,  be  pleased  to  find  that  what  has 
been  judged  most  likely  to  suit  the  delicate  appetites  of  ladies 
is  astonishingly  like  the  sort  of  things  the  sterner  sex  delight 
in,  and  if  he  be  a  reasonable  man,  content  with  a  very  little 
provender  for  a  good  deal  of  money,  he  will  easily  be  able  to 
make  a  comfortable  meal.  Of  course,  the  proprietor  of  this  es- 
tablishment, as  well  as  the  head  of  the  larger  and  more  hotel- 
like  restaurant  of  Mount  St.  Vincent,  has  mainly  in  view  the 
making  of  money,  and  this  is  quite  right,  but  the  Commission- 
ers care  only,  as  in  duty  bound,  for  the  welfare  and  enjoyment 
of  the  public,  and  they  have  therefore  made  it  a  condition  in 


X  E  W    YORK    CENTRAL    T  A  R  K . 


89 


leasing  these  places,  that  they  shall  be  at  all  times  subject  to 
their  examination  and  approval,  the  proprietors  being,  in  a  sort, 
their  agents,  and  bound  to  regulate  their  establishments  in  con- 
formity with  the  general  principles  of  the  Park  management, 
beside  the  more  particular  conditions  imposed  in  the  lease. 
Thus,  every  episode  of  the  Park  is  under  the  control  of  one 
authority — that  of  the  Commissioners — and  no  conflict  is  pos- 
sible between  those  appointed  by  the  people  to  rule  and  regulate 
the  Park,  and  the  persons  who  are,  in  effect,  employed  by  them  to 
assist  in  carrying  out  particular  parts  of  their  general  scheme. 


VIXEISY   XEAll  CASINO,    OVERLOOKING  THE   MALI.. 


The  Casino  is  immediately  surrounded  by  trees  and  shrub- 
bery, except  on  one  side  where  it  looks  out  upon  the  Carriage 
Concourse,  as  it  is  called,  a  large  rectangle  of  gravel,  approached 
by  a  short  arm  leading  from  the  main  eastern  drive  nearly  op- 
posite Seventieth  Street.  Here  on  every  music-day  will  be  found 
a  circle  of  carriages,  whose  owners  either  sit  in  them  listening 
to  the  music  in  the  Mall  that  runs  just  below  the  hill,  or  eat 


(»( )  P  K  S  <"  R  I  P  T  I  0  X    0  F    T  1 1  K 

creams  and  ices  in  tlie  Casino,  or  enjoy  the  pleasant  shade  of 
the  Vinery  with  its  cheerful  outlook  upon  the-  crowd  that  throngs 
the  Mall,  and  roams  or  rests  upon  the  broad  stretches  of  the 
close-clipt  lawns.  This  Vinery,  when  the  wisterias,  honey- 
suckles, and  roses  that  already  make  a  light  curtain  over  it,  are 
fully  grown,  will  be  one  of  the  pleasantest  resting-places  in  the 


Sl'SIMER    Illlt'SE    SEAR    HAM  II.TOX 


Park.  When  the  light  western  breezes  that  refresh  our  summer 
twilight  begin  to  spring  up  from  the  near-flowing  river,  no  won- 
der that  hither  come — 

•'many  a  pair, of  friends, 
Who.  arm  in  arm.  enjoy  the  warm 
Moon-births  and  tin;  long  evening-ends." 

for  few  cities  any  where  have  such  a  charming  promenade. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


91 


Southeast  of  the  Casino,  on  a  rocky  knoll  very  near  the 
Fifth  Avenue,  is  one  of  the  many  pretty  rustic  summer-houses 
that  tempt  the  visitor  to  stop  and  rest  in  his  walk.  This  belongs 
to  the  class  of  shelters  rather  than  to  that  of  the  summer-houses 
proper,  for  the  walk  passes  directly  through  it  and  down  the  hill 
on  the  other  side.  A  number  of  well-grown  oaks  and  willows, 
relics  of  the  original  vegetation,  grow  near  it  ;  and  on  the  ground 
at  the  foot  of  the  knoll,  and,  wherever  it  has  been  possible,  in  the 
shallow  earth,  that  covers  the  knoll  itself  in  places,  evergreens 
have  been  closely  planted,  and  have  already  attained  a  con- 
siderable growth.  By  the  time  the  city  fairly  reaches  this  point 
in  its  march  toward  Harlem,  this  summer-house  will  be  so  shut 
off  from  the  view  of  passers  in  the  street,  above  which,  beside,  it 
is  elevated  more  than  twenty  feet,  that  one  can  find  here  almost 
as  complete  a  seclusion,  for  an  hour's  reading  or  meditation,  as 


OAKS   NEAR   ARSENAL. 


he  could  obtain  in  the  centre  of  the  Park  itself,  so  judicious 
has  been  the  planting,  begun  at  the  very  earliest  possible  moment, 
and  so  promising  the  growth  up  to  the  present  time. 

Directly  opposite  the  knoll  on   which  this  shelter  is  placed, 


92  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

on  the  opposite  or  east  side  of  the  Fifth  Avenue,  is  Hamilton 
Square,  an  open  space  belonging  to  the  city,  and  extending  from  the 
Fifth  to  the  Fourth  Avenue,  between  Sixty-sixth  and  Sixty-eighth 
streets.  It  contains  fifteen  acres,  and  is  thus  of  considerable  size, 
having  six  more  acres  than  Washington  Square,  and  five  more 
than  the  Battery,  the  City  Hall  Park,  or  Tompkins  Square. 
Like  all  the  squares  belonging  to  the  city,  this  is  under  the  con- 
trol, not  of  the  Central  Park  Commissioners,  but  of  the  Street 
Commissioner,  and  it  will,  therefore,  be  laid  out  probably  in  the 
same  homespun  way  that  the  others  have  been;  but  every  such 
opening  in  the  wall  of  houses  that  must  some  day  surround  the 


Sl'MMEll-IIOCSE  SOUTHEAST  Of  THE  CASINO. 


Park  is  a  welcome  relief,  and  &ids  in  producing  something  of  the 
effect  of  irregularity  of  outline  in  which  the  Park  is  unfortu- 
nately \vanting.  Hamilton  Square  is  the  only  green  bay  of 
this  sort  that  relieves  the  monotonous  length  of  the  Fifth  Avenue 
along  the  whole  line  of  the  Park.  Artistically,  and,  we  have  no 
doubt,  financially,  this  is  a  great  mistake,  and  it  is  much  to  be 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PAKK.  93 

desired  that  if  the  opening  of  additional  squares  be  no  longer 
possible — even  where  one  is  so  much  needed  as  it  is  between 
Eighty-fifth  and  Ninety-seventh  streets,  opposite  the  new  Res- 
ervoir— owners  of  property  in  that  and  in  other  quarters  would, 
at  least,  see  the  advantage,  both  to  themselves  and  the  public, 
of  so  building  on  their  lots  as  to  secure  all  the  light  and  air 
possible,  with  the  additional  attraction  of  grass  and  trees.  This 
woul'd  be  very  easily  accomplished  if  the  owners  of  the  lots 
forming;  the  several  blocks  would  combine  to  make  "Terraces" 
or  "Crescents,"  as  is  so  often  done  in  London,  particularly  in  the 
new  and  fashionable  West-End,  a  sort  of  arrangement  that  adds 
greatly  to  the  elegance  of  that  part  of  the  city,  arid  largely  in- 
creases the  value  of  the  property.  Those  of  our  readers  who 
may  not  know  just  what  we  mean,  will  find  an  illustration  in 
the  familiar  "London  Terrace"  on  Twenty-third  Street,  between 
the  Ninth  and  Tenth  avenues,  and  also  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  lots  on  the  Fourth  Avenue,  between  Seventeenth  and  Eight- 
eenth streets.  The  terraces  in  London  are  not  exactly  like  these, 
and  indeed  they  are  by  no  means  laid  out  on  any  one  model, 
but  they  almost  all,  we  believe,  have  a  private  carriage-road 
and  sidewalk  running  along  close  to  the  house-fronts,  while  the 
garden  space,  with  its  grass,  and  trees,  and  flowers,  is  between 
this  private  roadway  and  the  public  street.  In  the  crescents — 
of  which,  so  far  as  we  know,  there  is  no  example  in  any  of  our 
Atlantic  cities — this  private  road  is  an  arc  of  a  circle,  to  which 
the  house-frontsv  correspond.  The  principle  is  the  same  in  both, 
but  perhaps  in  the  minds  of  our  New-Yorkers  there  might  be 
an  objection  to  this  partial  seclusion  which  is  the  very  thing 
sought  for  in  the  London  plan  of  terrace  and  crescent.  In 
case  this  objection  should  be  felt,  there  need  be  no  private 
drive,  but  the  house  might  be  reached  by  the  walk  from  the 
gate  on  the  public  street  through  the  garden,  as  in  the  already 
familiar  New  York  examples. 


94  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

But  it  ought,  we  think,  to  be  evident  that  some  such  device 
as  this  must  be  adopted  if  it  is  hoped  to  maintain  the  traditional 
elegance  of  the  Fifth  Avenue.  In  any  case,  the  street  is  too 
uninterrupted  in  its  length,  and  greatly  lacks  incident.  As  was 
very  well  shown  recently  by  Mr.  Leopold  Eidlitz,  one  of  our 
most  accomplished  architects,  there  is  no  example  of  a  fine  street 
anywhere  in  Europe  that  is  also  a  very  long  street: — 'In  Paris 
a  boulevard  or  a  street  is  rarely  carried  to  a  length  greater  than 
two  thousand  feet,  without  being  interrupted  by  a  square,  or 
changing  its  direction,  or  terminating  upon  a  park,  or  opening 
upon  something  other  than  itself!"  This  applies  directly  and 
forcibly  to  the  Fifth  Avenue  as  well  as  to  Broadway,  which 
Mr.  Eidlitz  had  more  immediately  in  his  mind  when  he  wrote. 
Between  Washington  Square,  where  it  begins,  and  the  Central 
Park,  the  only  break  in  the  monotony  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  oc- 
curs at  Madison  Square,  where,  beside,  the  intersection  of  the 
avenue  with  Broadway  gives  us  the  small  triangular  lot  on 
which  is  placed  the  "Worth  Monument.  From  this  point  again 
the  avenue  stretches  to  the  Park,  lined  with  a  double  row  of 
houses,  more  remarkable  for  the  evidence  they  give  of  the  dif- 
fusion of  wealth  in  the  community  than  for  their  architectural 
merit.  It  is  now  more  than  probable  that  the  lower  half  of  the 
avenue — between  Washington  Square  and  Twenty-third  Street — 
will  be  given  up  to  shops  and  stores,  and  that  the  efforts  in  archi- 
tecture of  the  next  generation  will  be  made  in  the  upper  portion 
nearer  to  the  Park  and  along  its  eastern  line.  The  new  Jewish 
synagogue,  the  new  Komish  cathedral,  with  some  of  the  latest 
private  houses,  that  of  Mr.  Martin,  for  instance,  all  point  in 
this  direction.  But  it  is  altogether  likely  that  the  wealth  of 
the  future  will  make  its  most  splendid  displays  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  the  Park,  on  the  two  avenues  that  bound  it 
to  the  east  and  west,  and  it  is  therefore  of  the  greatest  import- 
ance, as  regards  the  beauty  of  this  vicinity,  that  some  theory 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  95 

of  building  should  be  adopted  at  the  outset  that  will  prevent 
the  reproach  of  monotony  being  brought  against  our  city  in 
the  future  as  it  has  been  in  the  past.  It  is  now  too  late, 
doubtless,  to  break  up  the  formal  arrangement  of  the  streets 
in  that  part  of  the  city  that  lies  below  One-Hundred-and-Tenth 
Street,  but  a  great  deal  may  yet  be  done  to  make  that  formality 
less  offensively  apparent.  It  does  not  concern  us  here  to 
show  how  this  can  be  accomplished  in  other  parts  of  the 
city,  nor  to  prove  to  owners  of  property  that  their  real-estate 
would  lose  nothing  in  value  by  being  less  closely  built  upon ; 
but  it  belongs  strictly  to  our  subject  to  remonstrate  against  the 
surrounding  the  Park  itself  with  a  close  line  of  houses,  however 
elegant  and  costly,  even  if  every  house  were  such  a  finished 
jewel-box  as  that  recently  built  by  Mr.  Mould  for  Mr.  Martin. 
Such  a  wall  of  brick  and  stone,  broken  at  regular  intervals  by 
streets,  would  be  in  the  highest  degree  ineffective,  and  the  drive 
along  it  would  be  wearisome  and  uninteresting,  if  for  no  other 
reason,  because  of  the  want  of  balance  between  the  two  sides, 
all  trees  on  the  one,  all  masonry  on  the  other.  The  arrange- 
ment that  ought  to  be  adopted  at  the  outset,  as  it  seems  to  us, 
is  either  that  which  we  have  already  proposed  of  terraces  and 
crescents,  or  else  a  mixture  of  these  with  small  open  squares 
of  the  width  of  a  single  block,  surrounded  with  low  copings  of 
stone,  planted  with  grass  and  trees,  and  open  at  all  times  to  the 
people,  or,  if  they  are  private  property,  then  reserved  like  Gra- 
mercy,  Stuyvesant,  and  the  late  St.  John's,  squares,  for  the  use 
of  the  occupants  of  the  surrounding  houses.  Devices  like  these, 
simple  in  execution,  and  paying  for  themselves  by  the  greatly 
increased  value  they  would  give  to  the  property  in  their  neigh- 
borhood, would  effectually  lighten  up  the  sides  of  the  avenues 
opposite  the  Park,  and  prevent  the  monotony  that  is  at  present 
threatened. 

We  suggest  too,  that  such  open  squares  as  those  we  propose 


9(j  D  K  S  C  R  I  l>  T  I  O  X    0  F    T  H  K 

would  be  the  most  appropriate  places  for  the  erection  of  the 
museums  of  History,  Art,  Science,  and  Natural  History  that 
we  may  not  unreasonably  hope  will  one  day  redeem  New  York 
from  the  charge  of  being  the  worst  provided  city  in  this  respect 
in  the  world  in  proportion  to  her  size,  and,  we  may  add,  in  pro- 
portion to  her  municipal  pretensions.  Until  she  have  them  she 
can  never  be  a  great  city  in  any  true  sense  of  the  term.  Want- 
ing these,  she  may  be  an  overgrown  Hamburg  or  Frankfort,  but 
she  can  never  be  a  London  or  a  Paris.  And,  small  as  is  the  prog- 
ress that  has  been  made  at  the  present  time  in  supplying  the 
need  of  these  things,  there  can  be  110  doubt  that  we  shall  have 
them  in  time,  or  that,  when  they  come,  they  will  be  worthy  of 
the  city.  It  is  too  early  to  look  for  the  establishment  of  insti- 
tutions of  this  kind,  which  spring  up  naturally  only  when  certain 
material  conditions  of  growth  and  wealth  have  been  fulfilled, 
and  the  culture  that  is  the  fruit  of  these  has  made  considerable 
progress.  But  it  will  not  do  to  wait  too  long  before  planting 
at  least  the  seeds  of  these  institutions  in  places  favorable  to 
their  growth.  The  Astor  Library,  the  Historical  Society,  the 
Academy  of  Design,  the  Society  of  Natural  History,  ought  all 
to  secure  land  near  the  Park,  and  to  hold  it  for  a  term  of 
years,  even  if  this  can  be  done  in  no  other  way  than  by  putting 
up  temporary  dwelling-houses,  and  leasing  them  until  they  them- 
selves are  in  a  condition  -to  erect  buildings  suitable  for  their  col- 
lections. Then  if  the  idea  of  squares,  similar  to  Hamilton  Square, 
opening  upon  the  Park,  here  and  there  along  its  side,  can  be  carried 
out.  what  admirable  situations  will  thus  be  provided  for  the  future 
institutions  of  literature,  art,  and  science.  For  such  societies  do 
not  need  to  have  their  homes  on  crowded  and  fashionable  streets, 
but  are  best  placed  when,  without  being  out  of  the  way,  or  diffi- 
cult of  access,  they  are  removed  from  noise  and  bustle,  and  the 
distraction  of  the  outside  world,  and,  beside,  can  receive  abun- 
dant supplies  of  light  and  air  from  every  side. 


98  DESCRIPTION    OF   THE 

We  have  already  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
carriage  drive,  which  crosses  the  Terrace,  forms  a  nearly  direct 
communication  between  the  Fifth  and  the  Eighth  avenues  at 
Seventy-second  Street.  These  are  the  first  points  north  of 
Fifty-ninth  Street  on  either  avenue  where  the  Park  can  be 
entered.  On  the  Eighth  Avenue  opposite  Seventy-second  Street 
is  the  Women's  Gate,  and  on  the  Fifth  Avenue  opposite  the 
same  street  is  the  Children's  Gate.  Entering  then,  at  either 
of  these  gates,  the  visitor  will  find  himself,  after  a  short  walk, 
or  a  few  turns  of  the  wheels,  at  a  point  where  he  strikes  the 
main  road  running  north  and  south,  while  the  road  by  which 
he  entered  keeps  due  east  or  west.  We  have  now  reached  this 
point,  descending  from  the  Casino,  and  as  we  have  already  seen 


SKATING  WEST  OF  BOW  BRIDGE. 


the   Terrace,    and   neither   wish   to   leave   the   Park   at   Seventy- 
second  Street,  nor  to  retrace  our  steps  to  the  south,  we  will  con- 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  99 

tinue  our  drive  toward  the  north,  and  seek  the  rural  beauty  of 
the  Ramble. 

The  road  at  first  strikes  inland,  and  shortly  skirts  the  east- 
ern end  of  the  Lake.  On  our  right  the  ground  sinks  sensibly 
in  a  shallow  hollow,  the  bottom  of  which  is  some  twelve  feet 
below  the  level  of  the  Lake  itself.  Here  is  a  pretty  piece  of 
ornamental  water,  consisting  of  a  large  symmetrical  basin  with 
a  border  of  cut  stone,  and  with  a  fountain  in  the  centre.  This 
basin  is  filled  by  the  overflow  of  the  Lake,  and  by  whatever 
additional  water  is  supplied  from  the  drainage  of  the  hollow  in 
which  it  lies.  This  hollow,  as  will  easily  be  seen  by  reference 
to  the  plan,  is  a  continuation  of  the  second  of  the  two  depres- 
sions which  mark  the  lower  half  of  the  Park,  and  of  which  we 
have  already  spoken.  Originally  this  was  all  a  marsh,  extend- 
ing completely  across  the  entire  tract  of  the  Park  land ;  and  in 
Mr.  Viele;s  design  the  drainage  was  collected  into  three  small 
and  insignificant  pools  connected  by  a  running  stream,  two  of 
them  being  on  the  site  of  the  present  Lake,  and  the  other  be- 
tween this  ornamental  water  and  the  road  leading  from  Seventy- 
second  Street.  No  one  can  fail  to  see  that  much  more  has  been 
gained  for  the  Park,  both  in  beauty  and  utility,  by  the  treat- 
ment of  Messrs.  Yaux  and  Olmsted.  The  drive  at  the  east  end 
of  the  Lake — where  the  reader  is  supposed  to  be  at  present — 
passes  from  one  side  of  this  hollow  to  the  other,  over  a  solid 
bridge  of  stone  with  a  railing  of  gilded  iron,  and  pierced  with 
a  trefoil-shaped  archway  for  the  accommodation  of  a  foot-path 
leading  to  the  ornamental  water  with  its  surrounding  flower- 
beds. Thus  the  drive,  at  this  point  looks  down  upon  two  very 
different  views.  On  the  one  side  is  the  Lake,  with  the  pretty 
verdure  of  the  Ramble  on  its  north  shore,  the  lower  plaza  of 
the  Terrace  on  its  south,  the  Bow  Bridge  far  to  the  west,  and 
its  shining  surface  glinting  with  the  flash  of  oars,  or  traced 
with  silver  furrows  by  the  slow-gliding  swans;  or,  in  the 


100 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


winter,  gay  with  the  merry  groups  of  skaters  who  stream  from  one 
division  of  the  pond  to  the  other  under  the  graceful  arch  of  the 
Bow  Bridge.  On  the  other  side  we  see  the  meadow-hollow, 
dotted  with  trees  and  flowering  shrubs,  and  in  the  midst  the 
ornamental  water  with  its  formal  architectural  border,  in  direct 
contrast  to  the  irregular  Lake  with  its  rocky  and  wooded  juttings 
in  and  out,  and  this  formality  further  emphasized  by  the  par- 


THE  DOVECOTE. 


terre,  with  its  set  walks,  and  flowers  in  masses  of  color  enclosed 
in  geometric  figures.  On  the  extreme  eastern  edge  of  this 
garden-hollow  it  was  once  intended  to  place  a  conservatory 
of  two  stories  height,  to  be  entered  from  the  Fark  and  from 
the  Fifth  Avenue,  and  the  contract  for  building  it  was  actually 
taken  by  Messrs.  Parsons  &  Co.,  of  Flushing,  Long  Island. 
But,  just  then,  the  war  broke  out,  and  this  enterprise,  with  many 
others,  was  brought  to  a  stand,  and  has  never  since  been  revived. 
This  is  much  to  be  regretted,  for  the  plan  was  an  excellent  one, 
and  the  character  of  the  gentlemen  who  proposed  to  take  charge 
of  it  was  such  as  to  be  an  ample  guaranty  that  the  undertaking 
would  be  in  all  respects  well  managed.  The  plan  of  the  build- 
ing was  double,  embracing  two  stories,  and  the  elevation  showed 
the  heights  of  these  stories  in  its  double  curve  of  glass,  the  lower 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  1Q1 

one  projecting  far  beyond  the  upper,  and  the  upper  one  topped 
by  a  ventilating  clear-story  also  of  glass.  The  lower  floor,  entered 
from  a  central  door  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  ornamental  water, 
and  also  by  an  ample  stair-way  from  the  upper  division,  contained 
two  large  rooms,  one  at  either  end — the  Fernery  and  the  Camellia 
Room,  each  having  its  own  external  door.  On  either  hand,  as 
the  visitor  entered  the  hajl  from  below,  and  facing  west,  were  the 
Flower  Rooms,  where  cut  flowers  and  bouquets  were  to  be  kept 
for  sale.  On  the  opposite  side,  nearly  against  the  wall  of  the 
Park,  were  the  furnaces  and  offices,  and  thus  the  centre  of  the 
hall,  with  its  light  pillars  supporting  the  floor  above,  was  left 
free  for  the  movement  of  visitors.  Up-stairs  was  the  conserva- 
tory, fully  lighted  on  all  sides,  and  on  a  level  with  the  Fifth 
Avenue,  from  which  it  could  be  entered,  as  well  as  from  below. 
It  was  intended  to  make  this  conservatory  useful  as  well  as  beau- 
tiful by  adopting  a  more  natural  arrangement  than  can  easily 
be  contrived  in  smaller  buildings.  It  was  designed  to  give  each 
plant,  so  far  as  possible,  an  opportunity  to  grow  in  its  own  way, 
and  to  develop  all  its  propensities  without  the  restraint  of  the  eti- 
quette usually  enforced  in  these  places.  Thus,  wrhile  all  the 
ordinary  effects  of  growth  and  bloom  would  be  obtained  here 
in  full  measure,  we  should  have  had,  beside,  the  added  pleasure 
of  seeing  how  these  pretty  prisoners  grow  when  free ;  how  they 
spread,  and  climb  or  creep;  and  thus  making  a  sort  of  useful 
acquaintance  with  them.  As  the  plans  of  the  Commissioners 
were  so  fully  developed  with  regard  to  this  conservatory,  and  as 
Mr.  Yaux's  design  was  so  carefully  studied,  and  so  well  con- 
ceived, we  will  hope  the  idea  is  not-  wholly  abandoned,  and  that 
before  a  great  while  we  may  see  the  sparkle  of  these  glass  roofs 
answering  the  far-off  sparkle  of  the  Lake. 

To  the  north  of  the  ornamental  water,  and  in  the  tract  be- 
tween the  main  drive  and  the  Fifth  Avenue,  there  are  several 
points  of  minor  interest,  although  this  part  of  the  Park  is  but 


102 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


little  frequented  yet,  owing,  perhaps  to  its  immediate  vicinity  to 
the  Ramble.  The  tract  is  divided  into  two  distinct  parts  by  a 
branch  of  the  main  carriage-drive,  leading  in  a  diagonal  to  the 
Miners'  Gate,  at  Seventy-ninth  Street ;  and  the  bridle-path  also 


OAKS   NEAH  SEVENTY-NINTH   STREET   ENTBANCE. 


crosses  it  in  a  direction  nearly  north  and  south.  This  bridle- 
path runs  on  each  side  of  an  irregular  oval  where  grow  some 
picturesque  young  oaks  that  have  already  attained  a  consider- 
able size,  and  whose  shade  is  very  welcome  in  the  heat  of  summer, 
as  we  know  by  experience,  having  passed  many  an  hour  under 
them  with  our  book.  Just  beyond  these  oaks,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  cut,  the  bridle-path  passes  under  the  branch  carriage-road 
above  mentioned,  by  an  arch  in  a  substantial  viaduct  of  light- 
colored  stone,  with  a  railing  composed  of  stone  balusters  and 
piers.  Looking  up  from  our  book  or  newspaper,  we  see  across 
the  lawn,  the  Dovecotes  under  their  high-arched  prison  of  wire, 
of  which  we  have  already  given  an  illustration.  And  still  further 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 

on  we  shall  find  the  pretty  "  Evergreen  Walk,"  first  laid  out  in 
1862,  and  promising  before  long  to  become  a  delightful  place 
of  resort  on  sunny  days  in  winter.  It  consists  of  an  encircling 
wall  of  trained  and  trimmed  evergreens,  the  general  outline  of 
which  is  an  elongated  quatre-foil.  On  the  outside  of  this  wall 
evergreens  are  planted  as  thickly  as  they  will  grow  healthily, 
and  retain  their  natural  form,  and  these  are  to  be  allowed  to 
reach  their  natural  height.  Through  the  centre  of  this  enclosed 
space  there  runs  a  double  row  of  evergreens,  clipped  and  trimmed 
like  the  outside  wall,  and  presenting  on  all  four  sides  a  smooth 
wall  of  verdure,  with  cosy  projecting  and  retreating  ins  and  outs, 
each  bay  provided  with  a  seat,  so  that  six  seats  on  the  inside 
face  the  central  walk,  and  six  on  the  outside  face  the  walk  that 


MOWING  LAWN  NEAB  SEVENTY-NINTH   STREET. 


runs  round  the  whole.  Such  an  evergreen  shelter  needs,  at  least, 
ten  years  of  growth  and  care  before  it  will  appear  all  that  its 
designers  meant  to  make 'it;  but  this  one  bids  fair  to  be  com- 


104  DESCRIPTION    OF    T  H  K 

pletely  successful  under  the  hands  of  the  excellent  gardener 
who  has  already  performed  such  wonders  here  with  his  obedient 
trees  and  flowers. 

The  large  triangular  plot  bounded  by  the  main  drive,  the 
second  traffic-road,  and  the  branch  carriage-road  to  Seventy- 
ninth  Street,  is  unbroken  save  by  the  bridle-path  which,  pass- 
ing under  the  branch  carriage-road,  ascends  and  crosses  the  traf- 
fic-road by  a  concealed  bridge,  and  then, .  sharply  turning  to  the 
left,  makes  for  the  Reservoir.  The  triangular  plot  we  have  just 
left  is  lightly  set  with  trees,  which  crowd  together  into  a  close 
boscage  along  the  traffic-road,  leaving  the  greater  part  of  the 
slope  in  lawn,  over  which  we  hear  the  rattle  of  the  lawn- 
mowers'  wheels  that  here,  as  on  every  well-regulated  estate,  have 
taken  the  place  of  the  scythe  with  its  cheerful  whistle.  In 
their  report  for  1866,  the  Commissioners  say: — "The  appear- 
ance of  those  portions  of  the  lawn  cut  by  the  lawn-mowers  is 
remarkably  superior  to  that  of  those  cut  by  the  scythe.  The  sod 
is  firmer,  and  the  grass  much  more  dense  and  even,  and  seems 
to  maintain  its  freshness  for  a  longer  period." 


On  the  west  side  of  the  main  drive  we  find  a  turnout,  directly 
opposite  this  lawn,  by  which  we  enter,  and,  alighting  upon  a 
broad  carriage-step  of  cut  stone,  find  ourselves  in  the  Ramble 
at  its  northeast  angle.  This  pleasant  spot,  to  many  the  greatest 
attraction  the  Park  contains,  lies  upon  the  southern  slope  of  the 
rocky  ledge  that  occupies  the  middle  of  the  Park,  sloping  grad- 
ually toward  the  east.  The  Ramble  is  shut  in  between  the  two 
main  drives  on  the  east  and  west,  and  between  the  Lake  and 
the  old  Reservoir  on  the  south  and  north.  It  is  estimated  to 
contain  about  thirty-six  acres,  and,  although  it  has  several  open 
spaces  of  lawn,  it  is,  for  the  most  part,  quite  thickly  planted 
with  trees  and  shrubbery,  and  laid  out  with  a  multitude  of 


x  E  w    V  0  R  K    CENT  R  A  L    PARK. 

irregular  and  interlacing  walks,  arranged  without  any  definite 
plan.  It  would  have  been  difficult  for  one  who  surveyed  this 
site  before  the  Commissioners  took  it  in  hand,  to  believe  that  ten 
years  could  so  thoroughly  transform  it.  It  was  then,  as  we  well 
remember,  an  unsightly  mass  of  particularly  barren  rock,  on 
which  even  mosses  and  lichens  refused  to  grow;  the  soil  thinly 
spread  between  the  ledges  was  too  poor  to  support  any  but  the 
toughest  and  least  graceful  shrubs,  while  along  its  centre  there 
ran  a  bit  of  soggy  marsh  that  held  the  drainage  of  the  higher 
portion  until  it  could  leak  down  into  the'  still  lower  valley,  or 
until  it  should  be  dried  up  under  the  heat  of  the  August  suns. 
To-day  no  rock  is  seen  but  such  as  is  needed  for  picturesque 
variety ;  the  rest  is  covered  with  earth,  or  overlaid  so  thick  with 
honeysuckle,  wild  grape,  trumpet-creeper,  or  wisteria,  that  its 
presence  is  not  suspected  by  the  passer-by.  From  April  to 
September  the  Eamble  is  filled  with  the  delightful  perfume 
of  these  honeysuckles,  while  to  these  is  added,  in  June,  July, 
and  August,  the  even  more  delicate  odor  of  the  swamp  mag- 
nolia (M.  glauca).  Bacon,  in  that  pretty  passage  in  his  Essay 
of  Gardens,  beginning,  "And  because  the  Breath"  of  Flowers 
is  farre  Sweeter  in  the  Aire  (where  it  comes  and  goes  like 
the  Warbling  of  Musick)  than  in  the  Hand,  therefore  nothing 
is  more  fit  for  that  Delight  than  to  know,  what  be  the 
Flowers,  and  Plants,  that  doe  best  perfume  the  Aire," — after 
giving  a  long  list,  whose  names,  with  his  quaint  comments, 
read  like  a  nosegay,  brings  in  the  honeysuckle: — "Then,  the 
Ilony  Suckles,"  he  says,  "so  they  be  somewhat  a  farre  off." 
Here  we  may  have  them  as  we  will,  "farre"  or  "neare,"  and 
of  the  different  kinds  of  honeysuckle  (Lonicera)  the  Park 
gardener  can  show  us  seventeen — nineteen — if  we  count  two 
that  are  rather  shrubs  than  climbers.  However,  most  of  these 
are  odorless.  As  for  the  magnolia,  it  used  to  be  a  rare  plant 
in  our  northern  soil,  growing,  we  believe,  only  in  two  places, 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  1Q7 

and  those  far  apart :  the  Jersey  swamps,  and  in  one  par- 
ticular spot  in  Gloucester,  Massachusetts,  where  flourishes  a 
small  and  isolated  clump  of  this  tree  with  its  delightfully  aro- 
matic flowers,  a  waif  of  the  tropics,  seemingly  cast  ashore  on 
these  stormy  rocks.  Of  late  years  it  has  been  more  frequently 
found  in  gardens,  and  the  numerous  specimens  contained  in  the 
Park  will,  ere  long,  make  it  still  more  familiar. 

The  design  in  planting  the  Ramble  has  been  to  give,  if  possi- 
ble, the  delicate  flavor  of  wildness,  so  hard  to  seize  and  imprison 
when  civilization  has  once  put  it  to  flight.  Therefore,  an  effort 
has  been  made  to  bring  into  these  bounds  as  many  of  the  wood 
flowers  and  flowering  shrubs,  the  native  growths  of  our  forests, 
as  would  thrive  here — foreign  flowers  and  imported  shrubs  being 
put  in  places  more  seeming  artificial.  The  success  has  been 
considerable,  and  every  year  adds  something  to  the  list,  so 
that  already  the  city  boy  or  girl  may  find  here  the  earliest 
anemones,  hepaticas,  blood-roots,  adders' -tongues,  columbines,  and 
last,  not  least,  the  blessed  dandelions,  in  such  beautiful  pro- 
fusion as  we  have  never  seen  elsewhere,  making  the  lawns,  in 
places,  like  green  lakes  reflecting  a  heaven  sown  with  stars. 
And  in  time  we  have  no  doubt  that  the  Ramble  will  become 
a  favorite  resort  for  teachers  of  botany  with  their  broods  of 
learners,  since  the  city  suburbs  are  getting  to  be  so  thickly 
built  up  that  it  is  not  easy  to  find  a  haunt  where  the  wild 
flowers  can  grow  undisturbed,  while  here  they  will  always  be 
found  in  profusion.,  and  though  the  laws  of  the  Park  forbid 
that  they  should  be  pulled,  yet  their  habits  of  growth  may  be 
studied,  and  the  young  be  made  familiar  with  their  pretty  faces. 
One  beautiful  wild  flower  we,  ourselves,  especially  miss :  the 
Fringed  Gentian  (Gentiana  crinita),  celebrated  by  Bryant  in  one 
of  his  best-known  poems,  and  not  to  be  spared  in  any  collection 
of  our  rustic  beauties.  It  would  be  by  no  means  difficult  to 
domesticate  in  a  place  like  the  Ramble,  where  its  native  habi- 


108 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


tat  could  be  almost  exactly  matched,  and  we  hope,  before  long, 

to  sec — 

"its  sweet  and  quiet  eye 
Look  through  its  fringes  to  the  sky. 
Blue — blue — as  if  that  sky  let  fall 
A  flower  from  its  cerulean  wall.'' 

About  the  middle  of  the  Ramble  a  spring  rises  that  feeds  a 
slender  stream  which  runs  a  short  course  till  it  falls  into  the 
Lake  in  its  eastern  division.  This  stream  really  drains  what 


XOOK  IX  BAMBLE. 


used  to  be  a  depression  across  the  western  half  of  the  hillside 
on  which  the  Ramble  lies.  It  is  no  longer  a  marsh,  but  in 
one  or  two  spots  the  ground  is  purposely  left  but  partially 


NEW"    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 


109 


drained  in  order  that  certain  wild  plants — reeds,  lilies,  irises, 
cardinal-flowers,  and  others  that  love  such  watery  places,  may 
have  a  home,  and,  not  less,  certain  birds — storks,  cranes,  ducks, 
of  the  choicer  and  rarer  sorts,  pelicans,  and  herons.  In  at  least 
three  places  this  slender  thread  of  \vater  is  allowed  to  spread 
into  shallow  ponds,  where,  besides  the  flowers  we  have  named, 
the  visitor  may  find  the  water-lily,  a  shy  guest,  which  has,  how- 
ever, under  gentle  hands,  consented  to  bloom  in  these  quiet 
and  home-like  waters. 


RUSTIC    OKIIMiK    I-V   UAMULE. 


Near  the  western  boundary  of  the   Ramble   the  brook  falls 
over  the  slope  that  rises  abruptly   from  a  narrow  creek  in  the 


110 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


Lake — a  cleft  in  fact  in  the  rock — in  a  very  pretty  cascade, 
which  makes  a  cheerful  music  in  this  quiet  spot;  while,  just 
below,  it  is  crossed  by  this  Rustic  Bridge,  leaning  over  whose 
side  we  look  up  the  stream,  where,  on  the  slip  of  sandy  beach, 
we  see  the  birds  preening  their  feathers  for  another  plunge,  or, 
turning,  we  look  on  the  other  hand  upon  the  shining  levels  of 
the  Lake. 

Further  up  the  stream  is  still  another  Rustic  Bridge  in  a  more 
secluded  spot,  where  the  runnel  spreads  into  a  reedy  pool,  where 
the  two  pretty  wood-ducks,  which  used  to  have  their  haunt  here- 
abouts, but  which  are  long 
since  dead,  we  believe,  were 
often  to  be  found,  in  company 
with  the  distinguished-look- 
ing grey  cranes,  which  have 
also  yielded  to  fate,  and 
whose  places  have  not  yet 
been  supplied.  We  miss 
the  stately  creatures  with 
their  meditative  ways,  and 
wish  them  back  again.  A 
good  deal  of  their  apparent 
wisdom  was,  we  suspect, 
imaginary.  We  doubt  if  all 
their  profound  cogitations 
had  any  other  object  than 
to  decide  what  wrould  be  the 
best  place  to  put  their  other 
foot  down  upon,  in  case  they  should  conclude  to  put  it  down 
at  all 

Mr.  Horace  Greeley  is  said  to  have  remarked  when  he  went 
over  the  Park  for  the  first  time,  "  Well,  they  have  let  it  alone 
a  good  deal  more  "than  I  thought  they  would !"  and  while  there 


FALL    IX    EAMBLE. 


XEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 


Ill 


was  truth  in  the  remark  it  yet  showed  a  certain  misapprehension 
which  our  shrewd  townsman  shares  in  common  with  a  great  many 
intelligent  people.  But,  in  general,  much  labor  must  be  expended 
before  any  piece  of  ground  in  a  natural .  state  can  be  made  into 
a  park  suitable  for  a  great  city.  Nor  are  people  agreed  as  to 


BUSTIO    BRIDGE. 


what  the  character  of  such  a  park  should  be.  Many  think 
that  with  good  roads  and  walks,  broad  lawns  and  well-grown 
trees,  all  that  is  necessary,  and  all  that  is  desirable  will  have 
been  provided.  Others  would  prefer  something  much  more  arti- 
ficial, more  regular  walks,  a  crowd  of  statues,  water-works  like 


DK  SCRIPT  I  OX    OK    TJIK 


those  at  Versailles,  in  short  another  Versailles  if  possible,  and 
as  much  drearier  and  grander  as  money  could  make  it.  We 
had  a  fearful  warning  of  what  these  people  would  make  of  a 
public  park,  in  the  gateways  that  were  designed  for  ours  a  few 
years  ago,  and  which  we  so  narrowly  escaped  seeing  erected. 
And  still  a  third  party  are  for  a  union  of  nature  and  art,  with 
as  much  nature  and  as  little  art  as  can  be  contrived :  and  this 
would  seem  to  have  been  the  aim  of  our  Central  Park  Com- 
missioners. We  dare  say,  if  they  had  had  put  into  their  hands 
a  broad  and  beautiful  piece  of  ground,  pleasantly  undulating, 

with  enough 
of  rising  hill 
and  answer- 
ing hollow, 
and  broad 
reaches  of 
lawn-like 
m  e  a  d  o  w  , 
with  perhaps 
a  winding 
stream,  that 
they  would 
have  felt  it 

best  to  look  well  to  the  drain- 
age, secure  walks  and  roads 
as  near  perfection  as  modern  skill 
can  make,  plant  trees  wherever 
nature  had  meant  to  set  them,  but 
had  forgotten,  and  then  to  hold 
their  hands. 

But   people   are   mistaken  who 
think   there   are,   anywhere,  many 
such  places  as  this  in  the  world,  for  there  are  not  manv  acres 


1U:STIC    SL'MMKlt-HCirSE    IX    BAJIBLK. 


X  K  W    Y  0  II  K    H  E  X  T  R  A  L    P  A  UK. 

in  any  one  spot  that  would  not  need  more  skill  and  engineer- 
ing to  produce  the  result  the  "lovers  of  nature"  delight  in, 
than  they  think  necessar}*.  And,  beside,  it  is  to  l>e  remembered 
that,  even  if  we  had  once  secured  such  a  spot,  its  daily  use 
by  the  swarming  multitudes  of  a  great  city  would  render  it 
impossible  to  keep  its  rural  beauty  long  unspoiled.  The  grass 
can  never  be  used  freely  for  games,  for  lounging,  for  romping, 
and  for  walking,  without  being  destroyed,  as  is  plainly  seen  in 
the  London  parks,  which,  in  spite  of  their  size,  present  in  mid- 
summer a  very  shabby  appearance.  The  beautiful  "common"  in 
our  neighbor  city  of  Boston  affords  an  illustration  nearer  home. 
The  lower  part  has  long  been  used  by  boys  for  playing  ball  and 
other  games,  and  by  the  militia  for  drill.  It  has  been  found 
utterly  impossible  to  keep  the  grass  growing  under  such  conditions, 
and  the  attempt  has  been  abandoned.  The  consequence  is,  that 
this  part  of  the  common  is  at  present  a  dreary  waste  of  sand, 
most  unsightly  to  look  upon,  and  the  citizens  are  beginning 
to  discuss  the  advisability  of  taking  away  the  ancient  pre- 
rogatives of  the  boys  and  the  soldiery.  People  who  will  consider 
the  expense  of  keeping  the  Central  Park  roads  in  condition 
even  when  such  care  is  taken  that  they  be  not  misused,  can 
understand  what  this  expense  would  be  if  the  restrictions  were 
removed  altogether;  and  those  who  have  enjoyed  the  comfort 
of  walking  in  our  Park  undisturbed  by  the  presence  of  carriages 
or  horseback-riders  on  the  same  paths,  wilt  admit  that  'their 
pleasure  would  be  seriously  interfered  with  if  they  had  to  share 
the  common  road  with  vehicles  and  horsemen,  or  to  take,  for 
refuge,  to  an  impromptu  foot-path  through  the  damp  or  dusty 
grass. 

For  our  part  we  are  convinced  that  even  if  a  purely  rural 
park  could  be  made,  and  kept  up  (this  last  a  condition  almost 
impossible  to  fulfil),  in  the  heart  of  a  great  city,  it  would  not 
meet,  we  will  not  say  the  tastes,  but  the  absolute  requirements 

15 


114 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THK 


of  the  majority.  In  the  case  of  our  Park  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  for  the  site  on  which  it  was  decided  to  plant  it, 
nature  had  hardly  expended  the  slightest  effort.  We  might 
quote  here  the  description  given  of  it  in  the  earlier  reports  by 
the  orchitect-in-chief,  but  it  is  unnecessary.  Many  of  our  read- 
ers can.  well  remember  the  squalor  and  barrenness  of  the  un- 


XOOK   IN   RAMBLE. 


sightly  spot.  And  those  who  did  not  see  it  before  it  was  re- 
deemed, can  at  any  time  know  what  it  was  like  to  nose,  and 
eye,  and  ear,  by  visiting  some  of  those  portions  of  our  city, 
along  its  upper  eastern  and  western  shores,  where  the  shanties 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


115 


and  piggeries  of  the  Irish  crown  the  rocky  heights,  and  the 
market-gardens  and  cabbage-plots  fill  the  lower  ground.  A  more 
unpromising  locality  was  never  given  to  any  Adam  to  make  an 
Eden  of,  and  few  persons  who  have  not  watched  the  progress 
of  the  Park  from  its  commencement,  can  fully  understand  that 
its  present  condition  is  almost  entirely  an  artificial  product.  Na- 
ture having  done  almost  nothing,  art  had  to  do  all.  And  yet 
art,  trying  to  contradict  nature  in  nothing,  but  only  to  follow 
her  hints,  improve  her  slight  suggestions,  and  take  advantage 
of  her  help,  however  stingily  it  may  sometimes  seem  to  have 
been  proffered,  has  been  able  to  produce  a  result,  which,  on 
the  whole,  so  closely  re- 
sembles nature,  that  it  is  no 
wonder  if  the  superficial  ob- 
server does  not  clearly  see 
how  vast  is  the  amount  of 
work  that  had  to  be  per- 
formed before  the  Park  could 
reach  its  present  perfection. 
Nowhere  in  the  Park, 
as  it  seems  to  us,  has  the 
result  achieved  been  more 
worthy  of  the  money,  labor, 
and  thought  expended  to 
produce  it,  than  in  the 
Ramble.  Here  at  least  we 
may  be  thankful  that  the 
Commissioners  have  not 
been  content  with  merely 
"letting  alone."  For  the 
Ramble  is,  in  almost  every 

square  foot  of  it,  a  purely  artificial  piece  of  landscape  gardening. 
Yet  the  art  of  concealing  art  was  hardly  ever  better  illustrated. 


K.NTllAXCE   TO    CAVE. 


116 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


And  every  year's  growth  of  trees  and  shrubbery  makes  the  nature 
more,  and  the  art  less,  so  that,  in  time,  it  will  only  be  the  nature 
that  will  attract  attention,  and  the  art  will  be  lost  sight  of.  Al- 
ready it  is  a  delightfully  retired  place  to  which  to  bring  one's 
favorite  book,  or  to  come  to  in  the  summer  heats  that  make  our 
city  houses  so  unendurable,  and  do  our  thinking  under  the  shadow 
of  green  leaves.  Here  a  man  may  sit  for  hours  and  hear  no  sound 
but  the  chirp  and  twitter  of  the  birds,  the  rustle  of  the  light  breeze 
overhead,  or  the  far-off  murmur  of  the  town.  Sometimes  a  nurse 
with  her  charge  passes,  sauntering  by,  sometimes  a  band  of  chil- 
dren, or  a  solitary  like  ourselves ;  but  we  are  far  from  the  crowd 


CAVE   KKOM    LAKE. 


which,  except  on  rnusic-days  and  Sundays,  does  not  find  in  the 
Ramble's  peace  and  still  seclusion,  the  excitement  it  comes  to 
the  Park  to  seek. 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK 


117 


On  the  extreme  western  border  of  the  Ramble  will  be  found 
the  Cave,  a  great  attraction  to  boys  and  girls,  arid  hardly  less 
to  many  children  of  a  larger  growth.  A  steep  path  skirting  a 
bank  thickly  set  with  rhododendrons,  laurels,  and  azaleas,  which 
make  a  splendid  display  of  color  in  the  time  of  bloom,  leads  to 
the  foot  of  a  large  mass  of  rock,  where  a  sharp  turn  to  the  left 
brings  us  to  the  Cave.  At  first,  the  entrance  is  very  dark,  and 
causes  many  a  palpitation  in  tender  breasts,  but  a  few  steps  bring 


IXTEUIOR   OK   CAVE. 


us  to  the  light,  and  in  a  moment  we  find  ourselves  looking  out 
upon  a  peaceful  cove,  an  arm  of  the  Lake,  as  will  be  seen  bv 
the  plan,  where  the  ducks  perhaps  are  at  play,  or  the  swans,  with 


118 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


their  young,  are  preening  their  snow-white  feathers  with  their 
black  bills,  on  the  shore.  Keeping  close  to  the  rocks  at  the 
right,  we  come  to  the  foot  of  a  rough  stair- way  of  rude  stone, 
and  climbing  up  we  reach  the  summit  of  the  great  rock  out  of 
which  the  cave  is  hewn.  From  this  point  we  get  a  very  pretty 


AKM    Ut    LAKK    KKOM    CAVE. 


view  of  the  Lake  at  its  western  end,  and  passers-by  in  the  boats 
can  also  look  up  the  narrow  cove  at  our  feet,  and  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Cave. 

If,  instead  of  turning  into  the  Cave  on  reaching  the  foot  of 
the  rock,  we  had  kept  straight  on,  we  should  have  come  to  the 
stone  arch  by  which  one  of  the  many  foot-paths  hereabouts  leads 


N  K  \V     Y  O  R  K    C  E  X  T  R  A  L    PARK. 


119 


up  to  the  same  summit  we  gained  by  climbing  from  the  Cave. 
This  arch  is  built  up  of  rough  blocks  of  stone,  and  is  alreadv 
well  covered  with  the  vines  that  in  no  long  time  it  is  hoped 
will  hide  its  masonry  entirely  from  view.  The  path  that  leads 
to  it,  and  that  runs  under  it  around  the  rock,  is  only  partly  arti- 
ficial, for  if  the  visitor  examines  closely  he  will  see  that  it  has 


nUSTIC  BTOSE  ARCH   IN   UAMBI.E. 


been  formed  by  merely  tilling  up  the  bottom  of  a  cleft  between 
two  strata  of  the  gneiss  rock,  which  forms  so  large  a  part  of  the 
substratum  of  the  Park,  and  whose  natural  dip  is  such  that  in 
many  cases,  as  here,  for  example,  it  only  needs  slight  help  from 
the  hand  of  man,  to  lend  itself  to  the  most  picturesque  effects. 
The  arch  in  real  it}*  is  a  means  of  getting  from  the  top  of  one 


120 


I)  E  S  ( '  R  I  P  T  I  0  X    0  F    T  H  K 


ledge  to  the  top  of  another;  and  the  path  under  it  is  merely  a 
cleft  between  the  two  ledges  that  was  once  lilled  up  with  some 
softer  rock,  now  washed  away,  or  which  has  been  crumbled  into 
sand.  The  summit  of  the  stone  arch  can  be  reached  either  by  a 
foot-path  from  the  north  that  leads  directly  over  it,  or,  on  climbing 
out  of  the  Cave,  by  keeping  on  the  path  that  leads  to  the  right. 

From  the  top  of 
the  arch  a  pretty  view 
of  the  Lake  at  its  en- 
closed western  end 
may  be  had;  and  on 
leaving  it  one  can 
cither  descend  into 
the  Cave,  or,  by  keep- 
ing past  the  rocky 
stair-way,  make  his 
way,  by  a  path  thick  set 
greens,  into  the  Ramble  again. 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  plan,  this 
western  side  of  the  Ramble,  compared 
with  the  eastern,  is  the  more  irregular. 
It  contains  much  the  greater  quantity 
of  apparent  rock,  and  as  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  to  cover  these  ex- 
posed slopes  and  ledges  with  earth, 
the  Commissioners  have,  in  many 
cases,  not  attempted  it,  but  have  con- 
tented themselves  with  filling  in  wher- 
ever nature  gave  an  opportunity,  and  covering  the  naked  rocks 
with  vines.  Returning  from  the  Cave,  therefore,  the  visitor 
must  not  be  surprised  to  find  his  path  leading  by  rocky 
steps  and  steep-up  ascents  to  the  north,  until  at  length  he 
finds  himself  on  a  bare  summit  that  overlooks  the  lower  Res- 


RUSTIC  STONE  ARCH  IN   RAMBLE— ANOTHEU 
VIEW. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


121 


ervoir,  and  sees  the  whole  lower  park  lying  unrolled  like  a  map 
at  his  feet  This  point  of  rock  is,  we  believe,  the  highest  in 
the  Park,  being  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet  above  tide- 
water. An  elevation  in  the  upper  park,  "Great  Hill,"  as  it  is 


LAKE  FROM   TOP  OF  STONE   ARCH. 


called,  near  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Street,  is  as  high  within 
five  feet,  but  it  does  not  play  so  important  a  part  in  the  land- 
scape of  the  Park  as  the  one  on  which  we  are  at  present 
standing.  A  structure  called  the  Belvedere  is  in  process  of 
erection  here,  which  is  intended  not  merely  to  make  a  pictur- 
esque object  seen  from  many  points  in  the  lower  park,  but  to 
serve  a  useful  purpose  as  well,  being  a  spacious  post  for  rest 
and  observation.  For  a  long  time  this  rock  has  been  a  source 
of  anxiety  to  the  Commissioners,  a  sort  of  elephant  on  their 
hands  that  they  did  not  know  very  well  how  to  dispose  of.  If 
the  reader  will  glance  at  the  plan  he  will  see  that  the  rock  is 


16 


122 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


something  crescent-shaped,   and  that   it   cuts   into    one   angle   of 
the  Reservoir,  preventing  it  from  making  a  perfect  square.     To 


THE   BELVEnEKE. 


so   much    of  the   elephant    in   question,    the    Croton    Board   laid 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  123 

claim,  and  as  they  very  naturally  feared  what  might  happen 
to  their  Reservoir  in  case  this  angle  of  it  were  tampered  with, 
they  for  a  long  time  hesitated  about  the  expediency  of  giving 
up  their  title  to  it.  Long  after  the  southern  half  of  the  Park 
had  reached  a  certain  perfection,  .this  rocky  summit  continued 
to  be  an  eye-sore,  and  by  no  means  the  satisfactory  terminus 
to  the  walks  of  this  portion  that,  it  was  felt,  it  ought  to  be. 
But,  at  length,  the  Crotou  Board  has  been  prevailed  upon  to 
allow  the  Park  Commissioners  the  use  of  the  whole  of  the 
rocky  summit,  and  the  foundations  are  already  laid  for  the 
structure  that  is  to  be  built  upon  it.  Coining  directly  against 
the  sky,  as  this  Belvedere  will,  its  effect  as  a  picturesque  ac- 
cessory has  been  carefully  studied,  and  though,  in  a  critical  mood, 
we  might  reproach  it  with  a  certain  toy-like  imitation  of  a  feudal 
castle,  perhaps  this  would  be  hardly  fair.  For,  without  doubt, 
the  structure  is  really  needed  at  this  particular  point,  and,  for 
the  use  it  is  to  serve,  it  happens  that  the  form  that  has  been 
given  it,  is  every  way  well  adapted.  A  view  of  the  proposed 
building  was  given  in  the  tenth  annual  report  of  the  Commis- 
sioners, and  large  drawings  of  the  structure  in  perspective  were 
placed  by  Messrs.  Vaux  and  Olmsted  in  the  last  exhibition  of 
the  National  Academy,  so  that  the  public  is  already  somewhat 
familiar  with  its  appearance  as  it  will  be  when  completed.  The 
design  includes  a  sort  of  platform,  with  buildings  for  shelter  and 
outlook  at  either  end.  Those  to  the  west  are  lower,  and  of  a 
more  domestic  form,  while  at  the  east,  a  larger  building  of  two 
stories  with  a  flat  roof  has,  at  its  southeastern  angle,  a  tower 
of  considerable  height,  commanding  the  same  view  that  was 
formerly  obtained  from  the  old  bell-tower:  the  one  whose  red 
ball  used  to  be  so  anxiously  looked  for  by  thousands  during 
the  skating  season.  On  the  two  gonfalons  at  the  Terrace,  the 
reader  may  remember  that  the  arms  of  the  State  and  City  of 
New  York  were  severally  emblazoned ;  so,  on  this  tower  of 


124 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


the  Belvedere,  the  flag  of  the  United  States  will  be  kept  flying 
all  the  year  round. 


VIKW    FliOM    KEI.VEDERE.    LOOKING    SOUTH. 


Under  that  portion  of  the  rock  that  lies  just  south  of  the 
Belvedere  is  the  Tunnel,  constructed  at  great  expense,  for  carry- 
ing the  second  of  the  traffic-roads — the  one  that  comes  out,  on 
both  avenues,  at  Seventy-ninth  Street.  This  Tunnel  was  com- 
pleted in  January,  1861,  and,  after  a  careful  examination,  the 
roof  was  found  to  be  sound  and  firm.  The  length  of  the  Tun- 
nel is  one  hundred  and  forty-six  feet,  and  the  height  of  the 
roof  above  the  centre  of  the  roadway,  seventeen  feet  ten  inches. 
Its  width — forty  feet — is  the  same  as  that  of  the  road  it  spans, 
all  the  traffic-roads  having  the  same  dimensions.  After  passing 
through  the  Tunnel,  the  road  continues  in  a  straight  line  for 
six  hundred  feet  parallel  with  the  southern  wall  of  the  old  Res- 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


125 


ervoir.  It  then  takes  a  strong  curve  to  the  north,  and  comes 
out  at  Seventy-ninth  Street,  by  the  Miners'  Gate.  At  this  gate 
a  branch  of  the  main  carriage-drive  on  the  east  side  of  the  Park, 
and  a  branch  from  the  bridle-path  also,  leave  the  grounds. 


VlfiW    KKOM    l!El,VKl>KKE.     LIIOKINU    SOUTHEAST. 


As  the  Ramble  has  no  central  avenue  or  walk,  and  no  central 
point  of  interest,  indeed,  unless  it  be  the  Belvedere  and  the  view 
from  its  tower,  it  is  not  easy  to  describe  it,  if  it  were  necessary  or 
desirable  to  do  so,  after  any  methodical  plan.  It  is  a  place  to  ram- 
ble about  in,  not  to  walk  through — a  place  to  sit  and  rest  in,  to 
chat  with  a  friend,  or  to  read  such  books  as  one  can  read  in  the 
open  air,  where  nature  does  not  wish  us  to  read,  but  to  enjoy 
her  varied  and  incessant  play.  For  the  matter  of  rest,  all  sorts 
of  seats,  shelters,  arbors,  summer-houses,  abound  in  this  beauti- 
ful retreat.  A  sudden  turn  in  the  path  brings  us  to  the  pretty 
bower  of  which  Mr.  Bellows  has  given  us  a  cut  on  page  112, 
where  seats  on  either  side  enable  the  aged  to  rest  a  bit  after 
what,  to  some,  may  be  a  fatiguing  climb,  or  give  excuse  to  a  pair 
of  lovers  to  pause  awhile  in  their  pleasant  stroll,  and  debate 


126 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


whether   they  shall   continue  their  walk,   or  sit  for  the  rest  of 
the  day  under  this  canopy  of  vine, 

— '-sheltered  from  day's  garish  eye, 
"\Vhile  the  bee  with  honeyed  thigh. 
That  at  her  flowery  work  doth  sing, 
And  the  waters  murmuring." — 

if  they  do  not  entice  the  dewy-feathered  sleep  of  Milton,  at  least 
make  possible  many  an  hour  of  quiet  enjoyment  and  rest  in  the 


SfMMEH-HOfSE    IX    RAMBLE    NEAR   THE    liELVEDEKE. 


midst  of  the  noisy  city.  On  the  summits  of  many  of  the  lesser 
eminences  in  the  Ramble,  shelters  like  this  have  been  erected, 
some  of  them  with  seats  both  within  and  without,  others  with 
only  a  central  pillar  surrounded  by  a  circular  bench,  and  support- 
ing a  broad  umbrella-like  covering.  From  these  seats  an  unin- 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  127 

terrupted  view  may  be  obtained  on  all  sides,  no  posts  nor  lattice- 
work shutting  oft*  the  landscape ;  but,  while  several  of  them  are 
constructed  on  this  principle,  no  one  of  them  is  an  exact  copy 
of  any  other.  Not  only  is  a  pleasant  variety  secured  in  this 
way,  but  visitors,  whose  bump  of  locality  is  small,  are  more 
easily  able  to  fix  their  whereabouts,  and  to  find  their  way  about 
than  they  would  be  if  they  came,  every  now  and  then,  upon  a 
summer-house  or  seat  exactly  like  the  one  they  had  rested  ou 
a  half-hour  earlier  in  their  walk.  Yet  in  all  this  variety  there 
is  nothing  merely  curious  or  fantastic :  use  and  beauty  are  in 
every  case  delightfully  combined,  and  there  are  few  seats  in 
the  Park,  we  should  think,  upon  which  the  oldest  and  feeblest 
person,  or  the  most  delicate  convalescent  would  not  find  it 
easy  to  get  the  rest  which,  when  it  can  be  had  at  the  needed 
moment,  will  often  make  a  much  longer  walk  possible  than 
would  be  in  the  real  country,  almost  anywhere.  Sometimes  these 
rests  are  not  sheltered  at  all  except  by  the  trees  and  shrubs 
about  them ;  or  they  are  placed  against  the  broad,  steep  side  of 
some  mossy  and  lichened  rock;  or  by  the  border  of  a  brook 
or  pool,  where,  while  we  sit,  the  birds  will  alight  to  drink  or 
bathe,  or  perhaps  the  brown  rabbit  will  come  hopping  by,  his 
long  ears  all  alert  with  suspicious  fear,  and  his  startled  eyes 
quick  to  catch  sight  of  the  intruder  upon  his  preserve,  but, 
with  a  confidence  in  the  power  of  the  Commissioners  to  protect 
him  that  is  beautiful  to  see,  soon  making  up  his  rnind  to  eat 
his  dinner  in  defiance  of  strangers.  Others,  again,  are  large  and 
ample  structures,  capable  of  giving  sufficient  shelter  to  scores  of 
people  flying  distractedly  from  the  sudden  shower.  The  summer- 
house  near  the  Artists'  Gate  is  one  of  the  very  earliest  erected 
in  the  Park.  Those  first  built  were  designed  by  a  certain 
Hungarian,  who  showed  a  great  aptitude  for  this  kind  of  archi- 
tecture at  least,  and  who  was  ably  seconded  by  the  workmen 
the  Commissioners  employed  to  assist  him.  Hardly  any  thing 


128 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


of  the  sort  bad  ever  been  seen  before  in  this  country,  but  since 
that  day  a  great  many,  almost  as  good  in  design,  have  been 
put  up  in  various  parts  of  the  Park  by  other  hands.  The 
material  employed  is  the  common  cedar,  which  so  abounds  in 


SUMMER-HOUSE    NEAH    AKTISTs'    GATE. 


the  vicinity  of  New  York.  The  lirnbs  and  trunks  are  stripped 
oi'  their  bark,  and  they  are  then  put  together  in  a  solid  and 
workmanlike  fashion,  very  unlike  the  frail  and  flimsy  structures 
which  we  commonly  meet  with  under  the  name  of  summer- 
houses.  Nor  is  it  merely  the  workmanship  that  makes  them 
noticeable,  the  design  is  always  artistic  and  agreeable,  and  they 
are  no  less  an  ornament  to  the  Park  than  useful  and  convenient 
buildings,  without  which  the  place  would  lose  one  of  its  chief 
attractions.  Nearly  all  of  them  are  now  covered  with  vines 
which,  in  many  cases,  almost  conceal  the  frame-work,  giving 
us,  instead  of  artificial  decoration,  a  profuse  tracery  of  the  most 
graceful  vines.  Over  some,  the  Chinese  honeysuckle  spreads  a 
fragrant  shade;  over  others  the  wisteria,  with  its  parti-colored 


N  E  W    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 


129 


leaves  of  tenderest  brown  and  green,  and  its  delicate  purple 
flowers;  or  the  rampant  trumpet-creeper,  that  with  the  larger, 
and  that  with  the  smaller  and  finer  flowers ;  or  the  wild  grape 
with  its  spring-scent  sweeter  than  mignonette;  or  the  pretty 
gourds  with  their  pendent  bottles  of  yellow,  green,  and  orange, 
the  delight  of  children.  The  Park  gardener  has  a  mission  to 
teach  us  all  what  beautiful  things  can  be  done  with  the  simplest 
means,  and  gets  some  of  his  most  charming  effects  with  plants 


that  rich  men,  arid  poor  men  too  for  that  matter,  sometimes 
think  too  humble  for  their  gardens.  We  remember  one  spot 
where  the  whole  face  of  a  steep  rock  is  covered  with  a  wavino- 


17 


130  D  K  S  C  R  1  P  T  1  0  N     0  F    T  H  E 

curtain  of  money-wort  (Lysimachia  nuin,mularia\  a  pretty,  little, 
vulgar  plant,  long  since  exiled  from  all  aristocratic  gardens,  but 
which  seems  to  delight  in  showing  how,  in  this  stately  garden 
of  the  people,  it  can  hold  its  own  by  the  side  of  many  plants 
with  far  finer  names  and  a  much  prouder  lineage.  Some  of  our 
readers  may  remember  having  seen  the  money-wort  growing  in 
old-fashioned  gardens  in  pots  and  boxes,  sometimes  standing  by 
the  borders  of  the  walks,  sometimes  planted  on  the  gate-posts, 
the  long  trailing  stems  regularly  set  with  their  roundish,  oppo- 
site leaves  and  flowers.  But  we  never  before  saw  it  growing 
as  freely  and  in  such  masses  as  in  the  spot  we  speak  of  in  the 
Park ;  it  seems  to  have  found  its  habitat  here,  a  place  exactly 
suited  to  its  needs,  where  it  may  show  the  world  all  its  capa- 
bilities. 

Then,  in  another  part  of  the  Park,  the  soil  in  the  long  clefts  of 
a  mass  of  the  gneiss  rock  is  filled  with  the  native  cactus,  commonly 
called  the  prickly-pear,  which  grows  so  thickly  over  the  rocks 
and  cliffs  in  New  Jersey,  along  the  Hudson  River  shore.  It 
has  thick,  fleshy  leaves,  a  blunt  oval  in  shape,  set  all  over  with 
small  bunches  of  very  fine  sharp  thorns,  so  easily  detached  that 
it  is  impossible  to  touch  the  leaf  without  getting  some  of  them 
into  the  flesh.  The  flowers,  which,  in  the  season,  are  very 
numerous,  are  extreme!}"  delicate  and  pretty,  being  of  a  bright 
canary  yellow,  and  having  a  sort  of  outlandish  tropical  appear- 
ance that  increases  the  pleasure  of  coming  upon  them  in  one's 
walk.  Whether  they  were  found  growing  wild  on  these  rocks 
when  the  Park  was  first  taken  in  hand,  we  do  not  know,  but 
here  they  are  to-day,  mingling  their  large,  gauze-like,  yellow  stars 
with  the  profuse  bloom  of  the  portulacca,  and,  no  doubt,  deceiving 
many  with  the  belief  that  they  are  some  rare  species  of  cactus 
from  foreign  parts,  set  out  here  to  bloom  for  a  summer  and  to 
be  tenderly  nursed  and  housed  during  the  coming  winter. 

In  the  same  way.  the  Park  gardener  has  introduced  many  of 


N  E  W    Y  0  R  K    C  K  N  T  R  AL    P  A  R  K  .  131 

our  native  plants  hitherto  despised,  or  little  known,  and  by  secur- 
ing for  them  conditions  favorable  to  their  growth  has  enabled  us  to 
become  familiar  with  some  that  we  should  otherwise  have  long 
continued  strangers  to.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  swamp- 
magnolia.  Before  the  Park  was  planted  it  was  rare  in  our  North- 
ern States,  and  confined  as  it  was  to  two  spots,  and  those  of 
small  extent,  there  was  a  probability  that  before  long  it  might 
disappear  from  our  soil  altogether.  But  specimens  were  early 
planted  in  the  Ramble,  and  have  thriven  so  well,  and  are  in 
such  profusion,  that  the  Jersey  swamps  and  Massachusetts  Glou- 
cester can  no  longer  claim  a  monopoly  of  this  delightful  shrub. 
We  regard  it  as  one  of  the  chief  advantages  of  the  Park,  one 
ol  the  ways  in  which  it  can  most  usefully  serve  the  public,  this 
fostering  of  our  native  plants,  setting  them  before  the  public  in 
such  a  way  as  to  make  us  all  acquainted  with  their  good  points 
and  with  their  beauties,  which,  but  for  this  introduction,  we 
might  have  long  remained  ignorant  of.  This  is  in  some  re- 
spects, for  practical  purposes,  the  best  sort  of  botanical  garden. 
Of  course  it  is  not  the  sort  that  a  scientific  man  will  desire,  but 
it  probably  teaches  the  general  public  more  than  a  more  formal 
scientific  arrangement  would,  perhaps  for  the  very  reason  that 
it  makes  no  pretence  of  teaching  us  at  all.  We  make  the  ac- 
quaintance of  many  trees,  shrubs,  vines,  and  flowers  here  in  a 
familiar,  easy  way,  as  we  would  of  people  in  their  homes.  They 
are  not  on  their  dignity  here,  they  grow  as  they  like  best,  and 
the  gardener  is  one  of  those  rare  members  of  his  class  who 
knows  enough  to  let  his  subjects  have  their  own  way,  or  think 
they  are  having  it.  Who  ever  knew,  unless  he  had  travelled 
in  England,  where  gardening  is  understood  as  nowhere  else  in 
the  world,  what  the  honeysuckle  can  do  when  it  can  follow  its 
own  inclination,  and  is  not  urged  to  climb  a  trellis  it  has  no 
mind  for?  WThat  a  sight  for  the  eye,  what  a  feast  to  the  nose, 
this  great  rock  covered  with  a  cataract  of  bloom,  the  tendril-spray 


132  D  K  S  C  U  I  P  T  I  0  N    OF    THE 

tossed  into  the  air  as  it  pours  down  upon  the  grass,  and  the  bees 
about  it  in  a  humming  cloud.  Here  is  another  rocky  slope  cov- 
ered with  the  trumpet-creeper,  the  long  branches  loving  the 
warmth  creep  down  among  the  grass,  and  the  flowers  peeping 
up  surprise  us  with  unknown  blooms  among  the  homespun 
dandelions  and  clover-heads.  In  a  large  estate  like  the  Central 
Park,  the  gardener  can  often  give  us  the  opportunity  of  study- 
ing the  effects  produced  by  plants  growing  in  large  masses,  and 
in  a  soil,  and  under  conditions,  exactly  suited  to  their  needs, 
an  opportunity  which  we  can  seldom  enjoy  in  any  private  gar- 
den. Even  in  wild  nature,  in  the  case  of  trees  and  shrubs,  and 
of  the  large  class  of  plants  which  we  call  weeds,  it  is  only  now 
and  then  that  we  come  upon  finely  grown  specimens  enjoying 
the  soil,  and  site,  and  air,  precisely  suited  to  their  various  needs. 
One  may  live  in  a  region  where,  walking  five  miles  in  any  direc- 
tion, and  making  the  closest  search,  he  can  only  find  on  the  border 
of  a  bit  of  woodland,  among  the  brush  between  it  and  the  edge 
of  a  late-cleared  field,  a  few  score  plants  of  the  Fringed  Gentian 
pushing  up  their  pretty  blue  flowers,  in  the  early  autumn,  through 
the  tangle ;  and  he  may  flatter  himself  that  he  knows  something 
of  its  habits.  But  let  him  find  himself  among  the  meadows  of 
Berkshire,  near  Stockbridge  or  Lenox,  and  come  by  chance  upon 
one  of  the  many  sites  in  which  the  Gentian  delights,  arid  he  will 
hardly  go  back  to  his  own  starvelings  again.  For,  as  he  stands 
upon  the  Berkshire  hillside,  he  will  see  below  him  the  wide 
field  all  blue  with  the  multitude  of  these  flowers  he  lias  been 
taught  to  think  so  shy,  set  thicker  than  the  dandelions  in  early 
spring,  and  the  plants  no  pigmies  either,  such  as  he  has  been 
accustomed  to,  with  sometimes  only  one  flower,  and,  at  the  most 
with  five  or  six,  but  giants  three  feet  high,  and  with  thirty,  fifty, 
sixty  flowers  apiece,  counting  them  in  all  stages,  from  the  half- 
opened  buds  to  those  fully  open,  and  with  all  the  fringed  cur- 
tains of  their  eyes  advanced.  Now  he  may  well  think  he  knows 


N  E  W    Y.O  R  K    C  K  N  T  K  A  L    P  A  II  K .  133 

wlmt  the  Fringed  Gentian  really  is ;  lie  has  seen  it  growing  as 
it  was  meant  to  grow.  Who  can  say  that  he  has  fairly  seen  the 
Cardinal-flower,  until  he  finds  it  unsought,  thrown  down  by  a 
marshy  brookside,  like  a  splendid  scarlet  carpet  whereon,  only  a 
minute  ago,  Oberon  and  all  his  court  were  seated  in  rnerry  play, 
but  vanished  at  the  sound  of  a  human  foot!  Or  golden  rod,  or 
dog-tooth  violet,  or  the  wild  iris,  or  michaelrnas  daisy,  or  any 
of  the  sweet  wilding  brood;  who  knows  them,  till  he  finds  them 
where  they  are  of  their  own  will,  in  a  place  in  harmony  with 
their  genius?  The  botanist  hunts  far  and  wide,  and  questions 
every  traveller,  till  he  finds  the  real  habitat  of  the  plant  he  is 
studying;  not  the  place  where  it  can  be  made  to  grow,  by  for- 
cing or  coaxing,  but  the  place  it  loves  to  grow  in,  the  place  it 
will  crawl  to,  climb  to,  send  out  runners,  roots,  tendrils,  winged 
seeds,  to  seek,  and  where,  when  it  has  once  arrived,  it  will  grow 
in  all  the  glory  it  is  capable  of  for  a  hundred  years.  The  very 
sight  of  so  vulgar  a  thing  as  a  squash-vine  crowning  some  ignoble 
dunghill,  where  it  has  been  chance-sown,  with  its  magnificent 
leafy  crown,  and  sending  out  on  every  side  its  wild  freebooter 
runners,  now  creeping  close  along  the  ground,  cat-like,  as  if 
ready  for  a  spring;  now  mounting  the  garden  wall,  now  swing- 
ing up  with  one  hand  to  the  top  of  some  low  shed,  and  hiding 
it  with  its  great  cloak  of  leaves  and  golden  flowers,  and,  per- 
haps, building  up  there,  out  of  reach,  the  mighty  globe  that  is 
to  take  the  prize  at  the  next  county  fair; — such  a  rude  sight  as 
this  is  inspiring  in  its  way ;  we  feel  that  we  have  seen  one  thing 
at  least  in  creation  doing,  with  all  its  might,  the  work  it  was 
intended  to  do.  But,  for  the  most  part,  rich  people  who  have 
"  places,'1  and  who  have,  what  Job  didn't  have,  a  head-gardener ; 
and  people  not  rich,  who  have  gardens  that  must,  they  think, 
be  kept  in  order,  rarely  ever  see  any  plant  growing  as  it  has  a 
mind.  Trees  are  pruned  and  cut  back,  grape-vines  are  duly 
pinched,  strawberries  are  forbid  to  run,  tomatoes  are  pat  in 


134  D  E  S  C  R  1  P  T  IUX    0  F    T  II  K 

straight-waistcoats  and  kept  down,  and  the  whole  garden,  doubt- 
less for  its  own  good,  is  trained  to  walk  in  the  narrow  road  of 
duty.  Bnt,  once  let  the  head-gardener  persecute  his  miserable 
employer  up  to  that  point  beyond  which  endurance  is  not  pos- 
sible to  human  nature,  and  be  sent  away,  taking  with  him  his 
whole  corps  of  assistants,  and,  by  the  arts  best  known  to  the  tribe, 
keeping  his  late  master  out  of  a  successor  for  a  month  or  two; 
or,  let  the  family  shut  up  the  place,  and  go  summering  in  other 
parts,  and  how  these  shrubs,  flowers,  and  vegetables  do  behave,  for 
all  the  pains  spent  on  their  education!  See  the  fig-tree  in  the 
corner,  struggling  with  the  sweet-pea  vines,  and  coming  out 
second  best!  Look  yonder,  at  the  Maurandia  that  has  made  a 
thick  curtain  clean  across  the  great  window  of  the  library,  so 
that  the  servant,  who  tries  to  open  the  blinds  from  within, 
"can't  think  whatever  do  hold  the  d'ratted  thing!''  By  Po- 
mona !  those  strawberries  that  we  have  forbid,  over  and  over 
again,  to  get  out  of  their  beds,  have  slipped  off,  and,  like 
Leigh  Hunt's  pig-driver's  pig,  "are  running  down  all  manner 
of  streets !"  The  purslane  has  covered  the  walks  with  its  pretty 
rosettes,  the  sorrel  has  filled  every  cranny  with  its  sparkling 
tufts,  the  whole  garden,  hi  short,  is  a  wilderness,  in  which  all 
man's  petty,  useful  laws  and  regulations  are  forgotten,  and  where 
the  poet  is  as  much  delighted  as  the  new  head-gardener  is  dis- 
mayed. 

As  we  have  said  already,  an  effort  has  been  made  to  secure 
in  the  Ramble  something  of  that  flavor  of  wildness  that  gives 
the  zest  to  a  walk  in  the  woods  and  open  fields,  and  that  makes 
the  charm  of  some  of  the  English  and  French  country  places. 

i/       1 

Absolute  wildness  is  neither  possible  here,  nor  desirable,  but 
enough  of  it,  it  was  thought,  could  be  seized  and  imprisoned 
to  please  the  artist  and  the  poet,  with  children,  and  all  real 
lovers  of  simple  nature.  And  it  seems  to  us  that  the  Com- 
missioners have  succeeded,  even  better  than  could  have  been 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 

hoped,  in  freeing  the  Ramble  from  the  appearance  of  artifice 
and  restraint.  It  is  not  the  real  country,  to  be  sure,  but  it  is 
enough  like  it  to  give  pleasure  to  those  who  know  the  country 
best,  and  the  lover  of  flowers  will  find  here  many  examples 
of  the  sort  of  culture  we  have  been  speaking  of,  by  which  he 
is  enabled  to  judge  how  certain  flowers  that  he  has  never  seen 
growing  except  alone,  or  under  the  restraints  of  ordinary  garden 
culture,  look  when  planted  in  great  numbers,  in  masses,  and  with 
no  perceptible  restraint  at  all.  For  ourselves,  we  have  never 
seen  in  any  private  garden  such  a  splendid  display  of  rhodo- 
dendrons as  may  be  witnessed  every  year  in  the  Ramble,  near 
the  rustic  arch  and  the  Cave ;  we  get  but  a  poor  idea  of  what 
the  plant  is  from  merely  seeing  it  in  a  pot,  or  standing  alone  in 
the  garden-bed.  Then,  there  is  our  grandmother's  favorite,  the 
hydrangea.  We  always  thought  it  a  vapid  flower,  with  its 
petals  of  no  color,  and  ready  to  take  any  hue  its  owner  may 
have  the  chemic  skill  to  give  them,  but,  since  we  have  seen 
it  massed  along  the  slopes  of  the  Terrace,  we  are  ready  to  ad- 
mit that  we  had  not  done  it  justice,  for  it  is  a  flower  that,  when 
properly  treated,  is  capable  of  producing  a  charming  effect.  And, 
when  the  hydrangeas  have  had  their  turn,  we  hope  that  the  Park 
gardener  will  let  us  see  how  hollyhocks  will  look  in  the  place 
their  paler  rivals  now  occupy.  It  strikes  us  that  this  splendid 
plant  is  exactly  suited  to  those  sloping  banks  about  the  Terrace, 
both  by  its  pyramidal  form  and  by  the  magnificent  color  of  its 
flowers.  Its  very  formality,  although  in  reality  it  is  less  formal 
than  is  sometimes  represented,  for  its  stalks  often  get  blown  down 
by  the  winds,  or  weighed  down  by  heavy  rains,  and  in  the  effort 
to  right  themselves,  contrive  to  get  twists  and  curves  enough  for 
picturesqueness, — but  whatever  formality  it  has,  especially  fits  it 
for  being  planted  near  a  piece  of  architecture  like  the  Terrace, 
whose  lines  are  almost  all  horizontal ;  while  its  masses  of  brilliant 
color,  scarlet,  rose-scarlet,  crimson,  purple-black,  lemon-yellow, 


136 


DESCRIPTION    OF    T  H  K 


white,  and  rose,  would  relieve  the  monotonous  tint  of  the  stone, 
and  set  the  building  in  a  gorgeous  frame.  Up  to  this  time,  we 
believe,  the  Hollyhock  has  not  been  planted  in  the  Park.  It  is 
despised  by  some  people,  and  counted  a  poor  man's  flower,  a 
country  flower,  not  fit  to  grace  any  rich  man's  garden,  much 
less  so  stately  a  place  as  this  garden  of  the  people.  Here  is  an 
opportunity  to  teach  these  mistaken  people  a  lesson  they  will 
be  glad  to  learn.  For  no  real  lover  of  flowers  could  be  in- 
sensible to  such  a  sight  as  the  gardener  of  the  Park,  with  all 
the  resources  he  has  at  his  command,  could  show  us,  if  he 


INTERIOR  OF    MARBLE   ARCH. 


would,  by  planting  on  these  terrace-banks,  or  along  some  alley 
of  a  hundred  feet  or  so  in  length,  and  with  a  background  of 
evergreens,  groups  of  the  finest  hollyhocks  from  the  recent  prize 
shows  in  England,  where  this  plant  has  long  been  a  favorite,  and 
where,  under  cultivation,  it  has  attained  an  astonishing  perfection 
both  in  the  size  and  color  of  the  flowers,  and  in  profusion  of 
bloom. 

Those  who  frequent  the  Park  must  often  have  had  occasion 
to  thank  the  Commissioners  for  the  abundance  with  which  water 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK  137 

is  supplied  in  springs  and  wayside  drinking  fountains.  The 
authorities  have  provided  amply  for  the  wants  in  this  respect 
not  only  of  men  and  horses,  but  of  all  the  animals  inhabiting 
the  Park.  We  have  already  given  an  illustration  oi  one  out 
of  the  many  drinking  fountains  to  be  met  with  under  the  vari- 
ous archways  and  bridges.  Another  will  be  found  under  the 
marble  archway,  a  structure  near  the  southern  end  of  the  Mall, 
which,  from  being  a  little  off  our  road,  we  have  not  before  spoken 
of.  This  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  and  most  elegantly  built  of 
all  these  cool  places  for  rest  and  refreshment.  It  is  entered  at 
one  end  on  a  level  with  the  footpath  ;  at  the  other  a  double 
stairway  to  left  and  right  leads  to  the  level  of  the  Mall  and 
to  the  carriage-road  which  this  archway  is  designed  to  carry. 
It  is  called  the  marble  archway  to  distinguish  it,  all  the  other 
structures  of  this  sort  in  the  Park  being  built  either  of  stone, 
or  brick,  or  of  brick  arid  stone  combined.  The  marble  em- 
ployed is  the  coarse  limestone  from  the  Westchester  quarries, 
which  has  been  so  largely  used  of  late  for  building  in  New 
York  City.  The  archway  proper  runs  under  the  main  car- 
riage drive  that  nearly  crosses  the  Park  at  this  point  and  con- 
nects the  two  drives  at  either  side  running  north  and  south. 
A  marble  bench  runs  along  each  side,  and  at  the  end,  as  is 
shown  by  our  cut,  a  semicircular  niche  accommodates  those 
who  prefer  the  fuller  light  that  reaches  it  from  the  stairway. 
In  this  niche  there  is  to  be  placed  a  suitable  marble  basin  with 
drinking-cups,  but,  at  present,  water  is  obtained  from  a  common 
hydrant.  The  interior  of  this  archway  is  peculiarly  light  and 
attractive,  and  far  more  cheerful  than  the  other  structures  of  a 
similar  sort  in  the  Park.  Here,  on  a  warm  day,  the  children  and 
their  nurses  gather  with  their  luncheon-baskets,  or  the  reader 
comes  with  his  book  and  a  sandwich,  and  whiles  away  a  sultry 
hour  at  noon.  Over  the  railing  of  the  bridge  above  we  well 

remember   leaning   one   Fourth    of  July   evening,    watching   the 
is 


138 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


slow  sunset  fade,   and  after,   far  into  the  night,   along  the  wide 

horizon 

—  '•  break 

The  rocket  molten  into  flakes 
Of  crimson  or  in  emerald  rain.'' 

The  elevation  here  is  just  sufficient  to  enable  one  to  know  that 
he  is  surrounded  by  a  city,  without  looking  down  upon  it.  A 
little  beyond  the  marble  arch,  and  near  the  Seventh  Avenue,  is 
the  bridge  shown  in  our  next  cut,  where,  as  in  all  the  passages 
of  this  kind  in  the  Park,  there  are  seats  along  the  walls  and  a 
drinking  fountain.  This  bridge  is  built  of  red  Philadelphia 
brick  and  a  yellow  brick,  probably  from  Milwaukee,  arranged 


BRIDGE   OF   KED   AND    YELLOW   BEICK   NEAR   THE  SEVENTH   AVENUE. 

in  alternate  stripes,  the  red  bricks,  beside,  being  set  at  an  angle 
instead  of  flush,  a  disposition  which  proves  quite  decorative  in 
effect,  giving  shadow,  taking  off  from  the  bald  appearance  of 
mere  stripes,  and  making  the  contrast  of  color  more  value.  The 
arch  of  this  bridge  is  supported  externally  at  the  ends  by  cut 
granite  quoins  and  keystones,  and  the  red  and  yellow  bands  of 
the  outside  are  continued  within. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


139 


But  the  needed  refreshment  of  water  is  not  always  supplied 
in  these  artificial  ways.  In  many  places  in  the  Park,  not  only 
in  the  Ramble  but  in  the  upper  park,  in  the  Ravine,  and  here 
and  there  lower  down  along  the  western  side,  we  come  upon 
pretty  natural  springs  like  this  in  our  cut,  where  the  water 


SPUIN'0   NEAR   EIUHTH    AVENUE. 


wells  out  from  the  living  rock  and  is  set  in  a  frame  of  leafage 
as  every  spring  should  be  by  rights.  Many  a  time  in  our  walks 
have  we  come  upon  some  little  bird  taking  his  bath  in  the  pool 
that  receives  the  falling  water,  nor  has  he  always  thought  it 
necessary  to  fly  away  at  our  approach.  Near  the  restaurant 


140  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

at  Mount  St.  Vincent  there  has  lately  been  constructed  an  ex- 
tremely pretty  spring.  The  water  flows  gently  down  over  the 
face  of  a  nearly  perpendicular  rock,  keeping  it  always  moist,  but 
not  flowing  with  too  full  a  stream  to  forbid  the  growth  of 
mosses  and  ferns  in  the  slight  ledges  along  its  face,  and  is  re- 
ceived at  the  bottom  in  a  deep  tank.  This  spring  has  been 
arranged  expressly  for  horses,  and  is  on  the  horseback-ride  near 
the  pretty  cedarn  arbor,  seen  from  the  road  just  before  reaching 
the  restaurant.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  Park,  where  rocks  of 
this  description  are  quite  common,  other  rustic  springs  similar 
to  the  one  which  we  have  just  described,  are  to  be  constructed 
from  time  to  time,  so  that  when  the  laying  out  of  the  grounds 
is  completed  there  will  be,  in  every  part,  abundant  provision  of 
water  for  man  and  beast.  And  it  is  pleasant  to  remember  that, 
thus  far  at  least,  all  the  water  that  is  in  the  Park,  excepting, 
of  course,  the  twro  Croton  Reservoirs,  whether  it  be  in  the  form 
of  lakes  or  pools,  brooks,  fountains,  or  springs,  is  the  natural 
product  of  the  ground,  not  borrowed  from  the  outside  country. 
The  water  that  used  to  stagnate  in  these  marshes,  or  to  creep 
lazily  along  in  slender  streams,  half  choked  with  duckweed  and 
cress,  has  been  thus  transformed  by  the  skill  of  the  engineers 
and  landscape  gardeners,  and  made  to  minister  both  to  use  and 
beauty. 

We  have  often  alluded  to  the  animals  that  have  their  pleas- 
ant home  in  the  Park ;  of  those  which  are  permitted  to  run  at 
large  the  Ramble  offers  to  many  a  delightful  shelter,  where,  they 
may  almost  forget  the  nearness  of  the  city.  Indeed,  if  it  were 
not  for  dogs,  which,  although  forbidden  in  the  Park,  will  often 
make  an  entry  by  night,  and  do  mischief  in  spite  of  all  precau- 
tions, there  is  no  danger,  or  there  would  be  none  if  the  wall 
and  gates  wrere  completed,  in  allowing  the  deer  to  roam  at  will. 
But  neither  the  wall  nor  the  gates  would  be  a  sufficient  protec- 
tion against  dogs,  if  the  deer  and  sheep  were  unguarded,  and 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


141 


the  former,  therefore,  are  confined  to  their  enclosures,  and  the 
latter  intrusted  to  the  care  and  crook  of  their  faithful  shepherd. 
In  the  Ramble,  then,  we  can  only  study  the  habits  in  freedom  of 
certain  birds,  unless  it  be  those  of  the  rabbits,  wild  and  tame, 
but  the  company  of  these  we  can  really  enjoy,  for  they  are 
evidently  at  home,  and  have  learned,  by  this  time,  to  be  quite 
fearless  in  the  presence 
of  visitors.  Among  the 
fowls,  too,  the  good  old 
English  of  our  Bible 
allows  us  to  reckon  the 
bees,  which,  somewhere, 
are  called  "  the  smallest 
of  the  fowl,"  and  an  in- 
fant colony  of  these 
little  creatures  is  fairly 
domesticated  here,  hav- 
ing its  huts  under  the 
pretty  shelter  which  we 
show  in  our  cut.  Pro- 
bably there  would  be 
more  of  these  if  it  were 
not  that  the  bees  are 
such  troublesome  crea- 
tures to  manage,  and 

that  in  the  course  of  a  year  a  great  many  children  would  be 
stung  by  them.  If  they  were  not  almost  as  fearful  wild-fowl 
as  Bottom's  lion,  being  not  only  constitutionally  irritable,  but 
whimsical,  which  is  worse;  apt  to  fly  into  a  passion  at  an  ill 
smell,  prone  to  fall  out  with  people  not  sufficiently  given  to 
bathing,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  like  enough  to  persecute  any 
lady  carrying  a  scented  handkerchief,  or  with  perfumed  hair, 
to  her  peril; — it  would  be  a  very  pleasant  addition  to  the  at- 


BEE-HIVE    IN'    RAMBLE. 


142 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


tractions  of  the  Park  to  have  an  opportunity  of  studying  the 
operations  of  bees  in  their  hives.  Many  a  delightful  hour 
might  be  passed,  surveying 

••The  singing  masons  building  roofs  of  gold." 

that  is  if  they  would  let  us,  but  as  is  well  known,  the  bees  like 

to  keep  their  doings  to  them- 
selves, and  if  the  glass  by 
which  we  watch  them  re- 
main long  uncovered,  they 
will  make  a  waxen  screen, 
and  shut  out  prying  eyes. 

The  English  sparrowshow- 
ever,  for  whom  these  pictur- 
esque houses  are  being  built 
in  various  parts  of  the  Park, 
beside  the  Ramble,  are  by 
no  means  so  shy,  nor,  to  us 
humans,  so  ill-disposed,  al- 
though they  are  pugnacious 
little  fellows  and  fight  for- 
ever among  themselves.  But 
they  are  such  brisk,  tight- 
bodied,  chirruping,  bright- 
eyed  chaps,  that,  after  brief 
acquaintance  with  them,  we 
expect  to  see  them  do  every  thing, — fighting,  love-making,  eating, 
and  drinking,  with  as  much  fuss  and  fury  as  possible.  They 
picked  up  these  manners,  we  suppose,  in  England,  and  they 
look  like  Englishmen  in  miniature,  for  all  the  world !  We 
happened  to  be  in  the  Park  on  St.  Valentine's  Day,  and  there 
was  a  hubbub,  to  be  sure !  The  sparrows  may  have  called  it 
"  wooing,"  but  it  looked  to  us  like  a  general  scrimmage.  Such 


UlUD-llOUSE   IK    ItAMBLE. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  143 

scolding  and  chattering,  such  hard  blows  given  and  taken,  such 
chipper  defiance,  and  hot  pursuit  on  the  least  provocation !  It 
was  as  noisy  as  a  political  caucus,  and  sounded  wonderfully  like 
swearing !  They  are  industrious  little  creatures,  however,  and 
not  only  the  Central  Park,  but  the  whole  city,  is  greatly  in  their 
debt  for  the  thorough  way  in  which  they  keep  the  measuring- 
worms  down.  Visitors  to  the  Park  must  have  noticed  how  free 
.the  trees  are  from  destructive  insects  and  worms;  a  caterpillar's 
nest  is  a  thing  not  to  be  seen  there,  and  we  suppose  that  a 
great  deal  of  this  freedom  from  what,  in  many  parts  of  our  city, 
had  grown  to  be  a  real  nuisance,  is  owing  to  the  freedom  that 
birds  of  all  kinds  enjoy  here.  They  pay  for  all  the  care  that 
is  taken  to  protect  their  lives,  and  make  them  comfortable. 

The  pea-fowl  are  the  most  attractive  residents  of  the  Ramble, 
and  they  seem  to  find  life  there  very  agreeable.  They  may  often 
be  seen  on  the  lawns  on  sunny  days :  the  cocks  stepping  majes- 
tically about}  with  their  magnificent  trains,  and  the  meek  hens 
following  them,  their  quiet-colored  plumage  serving  as  a  foil  to 
the  splendid  hues  in  which  their  lords  are  arrayed.  Now  and 
then,  apparently  from  no  other  motive  than  pure  whim,  the  male 
will  vouchsafe  the  world  a  sight  of  his  outspread  tail,  and  if 
he  succeeds  in  attracting  a  sufficiently  large  crowd  of  children 
with  their  nurses,  and  is  greeted  by  enough  flattering  "ohs!;> 
and  "ahs!"  he  will  complacently  turn  himself  about  to  the  right 
and  left  for  twenty  minutes  or  so,  apparently  under  the  impres- 
sion that  the  entire  Park,  and  the  whole  world,  for  that  matter, 
was  created  expressly  as  a  platform  and  background  for  the  dis- 
play of  his  splendor.  It  is,  by  no  means,  uncommon  either,  for 
him  to  be  so  carried  away  by  the  extreme  admiration  bestowed 
upon  him,  as  to  fancy  that  he  can  add,  as  it  were,  a  perfume  to 
the  violet,  by  lifting  his  voice  in  song,  but  the  first  few  notes 
of  his  raucous  and  discordant  cry  are  generally  sufficient  to  dis- 
perse the  assembly  in  most  admired  disorder,  the  infants  adding 


144 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


tlicir  squalls  to  his,  and  the  nurses,  terrified  out  of  their  wits, 
snatching  up  their  charges,  and  seeking  refuge  from  the  beauti- 
ful monster  in  the  nearest  summer-house. 

For  ourselves,  we  better  like  to  come  upon  the  peacocks  when 
they  are  lying  at  ease  in  some  covert,  say  in  the  late  autumn 
days,  among  the  withered  leaves,  where,  at  first  they  are  not 


LAWN    IN    KAMBLE    WITH    PEA-FOWL, 


perceived,  but  presently,  all  at  once,  the  eye  catches  the  un- 
wonted gleam  of  the  neck  with  its  indescribable  green-blue, 
such  as  nothing  in  nature  can  rival,  except  the  hues  and  lights 
of  certain  precious  stones.  Other  birds,  indeed,  and  some  of  the 
South  American  butterflies  and  beetles,  have  colors  as  splendid, 
but  they  are  distributed  in  much  smaller  masses,  or  on  smaller 
bodies.  No  other  bird,  we  believe,  is  at  once  so  large  as  the 
peacock  and  so  gorgeously  arrayed.  His  beauty  is  proverbial, 
particularly  among  the  Eastern  nations,  and  beside  making  use 


NEW  YORK  CEXTRAL  PARK.  145 

of  his  plumage  in  various  decorative  manufacture,  they  often 
employ  its  markings  and  colors  in  their  designs,  imitating  its 
hues  with  stained  mother-of-pearl,  and  with  lapis,  emerald,  and 
turquoise.  He  plays  an  important  part  too  in  the  Mohammedan 
legends,  and,  perhaps,  the  reader  may  not  object  to  hearing  how 
the  Arab  prophet  introduced  him  among  the  personages  concerned 
in  the  great  drama  of  the  Fall  of  Man. 

Allah  himself  said  to  Adam  and  Eve,  "I  have  appointed 
this  garden  for  your  abode,  it  will  shelter  you  from  cold  and  heat, 
from  hunger  and  thirst.  Take,  at  your  discretion,  of  every  thing 
that  it  contains;  only  one  of  its  fruits  shall  be  denied  you.  Be- 
ware that  ye  transgress  not  this  one  command,  and  watch  against 
the  wily  rancor  of  Iblis !  He  is  your  enemy,  because  he  was 
overthrown  on  your  account ;  his  cunning  is  infinite,  and  he 
aims  at  your  destruction." 

The  newly-created  pair  attended  to  Allah's  words,  and  lived 
a  long  time,  some  say  five  hundred  years,  in  Paradise  without 
approaching  the  forbidden  tree.  But  Iblis  also  had  listened  to 
Allah,  and  resolving  to  lead  man  into  sin,  wandered  constantly 
in  the  outskirts  of  heaven,  seeking  to  glide  unobserved  into 
Paradise.  But  its  gates  were  shut,  and  guarded  by  the  angel 
Ridwhan.  One  day  the  peacock  came  out  of  the  garden.  He 
was  the  finest  of  the  birds  of  Paradise,  for  his  plumage  shone 
like  the  pearl  and  emerald,  and  his  voice  was  so  melodious  that 
he  was  appointed  to  sing  the  praises  of  Allah  daily  in  the  main 
street  of  heaven. 

Iblis,  on  seeing  him,  said  to  himself,  ''Doubtless  this  beauti- 
ful bird  is  very  vain  ;  perhaps  I  may  be  able  to  induce  him,  by 
flattery,  to  bring  me  secretly  into  the  garden." 

When  the  peacock  had  gone  so  far  from  the  gate  that  lie 
could  no  longer  be  overheard  by  Ridwhan,  Iblis  said  to  him : — 

"Most  wonderful  and  beautiful  bird!  art  thou  of  the  birds 
of  Paradise?'' 

19 


14:6  DESCRIPTION     OF    THE 

"  I  am :  but  who  art  thou,  who  seemest  frightened,  as  if  some 
one  did  pursue  thee?" 

"I  am  one  of  those  cherubim  who  are  appointed  to  sing, 
without  ceasing,  the  praises  of  Allah,  but  have  glided  away 
for  an  instant  to  visit  the  Paradise  which  He  has  prepared 
for  the  faithful.  Wilt  thou  conceal  me  under  thy  beautiful 
wings?" 

''Why  should  I  do  an  act  which  must  bring  the  displeasure 
of  Allah  upon  me?" 

'•Take  me  with  thee,  charming  bird,  and  I  will  teach  thee 
three  mysterious  words,  which  shall  preserve  thee  from  sick- 
ness, age,  and  death." 

"Must,  then,  the  inhabitants  of  Paradise  die?" 

"All,  without  exception,  who  know  not  the  three  words 
which  I  possess." 

"  Speakest  thou  the  truth  ?" 

"By  Allah,  the  Almighty!" 

The  peacock  believed  him,  for  he  did  not  even  dream  that 
any  creature  would  swear  falsely  by  its  maker;  yet,  fearing  lest 
Ridwhan  might  search  him  too  closely  on  his  return,  he  steadily 
refused  to  take  Iblis  along  with  him,  but  promised  to  send  out 
the  serpent,  who  might  more  easily  discover  the  means  of  intro- 
ducing him  unobservedly  into  the  garden. 

Now  the  serpent  was  at  first  the  queen  of  all  beasts.  Her 
head  was  like  rubies,  and  her  eyes  like  emerald.  Her  skin 
shone  like  a  mirror  of  various  hues.  Her  hair  was  soft  like 
that  of  a  noble  virgin ;  and  her  form  resembled  the  stately 
camel ;  her  breath  was  sweet  like  musk  and  amber,  and  all 
her  words  were  songs  of  praise.  She  fed  on  saffron,  and  her 
resting-places  were  on  the  blooming  borders  of  the  beautiful 
river  Cantharus.  She  was  created  a  thousand  years  before 
Adam,  and  destined  to  be  the  playmate  of  Eve. 

The  rest  of  the  legend  need  not  be  given.     The  peacock  so 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK.  147 

frightens  the  beautiful  and  luxurious  serpent  with  the  idea  of 
death,  that  she  straightway  runs  out  of  the  garden,  and  is  easily 
persuaded  by  Iblis  to  allow  him  to  enter  Paradise  hid  in  the 
hollow  of  one  of  her  teeth.  As  a  punishment  for  his  com- 
plicity in  the  crime  of  Iblis,  the  peacock  was  condemned  to 
lose  his  beautiful  voice,  and,  on  being  expelled  from  Paradise, 
was  ordered  to  take  up  his  abode  in  Persia.  In  these  later 
years  he  has  exchanged  the  rose-gardens  of  Persia  for  haunts 
farther  west,  and  has  long  since  become  a  familiar  bird  with 
us.  No  less  than  seventy-nine  are  domesticated  in  the  Park, 
and,  of  these,  the  greater  number  are  to  be  met  with  in  the 
Ramble. 


LAWN    IN   J1AMHLE   WITH    GUINEA-FOWL. 


Belonging  to  the  same  sub-order  as  the  pea-fowl,  but  less 
striking  in  appearance,  are  the  guinea-fowl,  of  which  the  Park 
possesses  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  specimens.  The  majority  of 
these  are  of  the  well-known  gray  variety,  there  being  only  two 
of  the  far  less  common,  white.  The  guinea-fowl  is  much  shyer 
than  his  more  showy  relative,  and  will  not  remain  so  quietly 
to  be  watched,  but  it  is  pretty  if  one  can  come  unawares  upon 
the  parents,  leading  about  their  tiny  speckled  brood.  If  they 


148 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


spy  us,  however,  they  quickly  take  themselves  to  cover.  One 
wonders  if  the  Arabs  have  a  fable  ready  to  account  for  the 
harsh  voice  which  these  birds  share  with  their  cousins,  the  pea- 
fowl ;  probably  it  was  only  thought  necessary  to  account  for 
the  discrepancy  between  the  elegant  shape  and  brilliant  color- 
ing of  the  larger  bird,  and  his  horrible  voice,  while  contrast  be- 
tween the  sober  gray  and  rather  clumsy  shape  of  the  guinea- 
fowl,  and  his  rough  cry,  was  so  much  less  striking  as  to  pass 


FREDERICK  LAW   OLMSTED. 


with  little  notice.  Mr.  Bellows  -was  so  fortunate  as  to  find  a 
party  of  these  birds  so  intent  upon  making  havoc  among  the 
grasshoppers  on  the  lawn  as  to  be  entirely  unconscious  of  the 
fact,  that  ''a  chiel  was  arnang  'em  takin'  notes,"  until  he  had 
them  safely  down,  in  their  native  gray  and  white. 

Less  familiar   than   these   birds,    but   hardly  less   interesting, 
arc  several  strangers,   from   far-away   parts    of  our   own  country 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


149 


or  from  over-seas,  which  we  shall  meet  in  any  of  our  strolls 
through  the  Ramble,  and  of  which  we  have  already  spoken. 
Many  of  our  readers  will  have  made  the  acquaintance  long  ago 
of  the  Heron  who  wanders  about  for  the  present  without  a  mate, 
but  who  will  doubtless  find  his  Eve  advancing  toward  him  out  of 
the  rushes  some  fine  morning,  when  some  philanthropic  person 
shall  have  presented  her  to  the  Commissioners.  The  same  good 


CALVEBT    VAUX. 


service  will  also  have  to  be  done  for  the  Stork,  who,  in  the 
absence  of  his  wife,  has  forsworn  all  society,  and  devotes  him- 
self exclusively  to  solving  the  problem,  how  long  he  can  stand 
on  one  leg,  with  his  bill  buried  in  his  breast- feat  hers,  so  that 
he  presents  the  appearance  of  a  lady's  summer  parasol  stuck  on 
end  in  the  sod,  and  waiting  for  an  owner.  The  two  Tiger  Bit- 
terns are  more  sociable,  and  seem  to  have  some  business  in  the 


150  D  K  S  0  R  I  P  T  I  0  X    0  F    T  I !  E 

world,  but  their  manners  are  too  stately,  their  steps  too  meas- 
ured, and  their  way  of  looking  at  us  out  of  the  side  of  their 
eye  too  chilling  and  critical  that  we  should  feel  any  lively  in- 
terest in  them.  The  company  of  the  lively  little  sparrows  is  a 
vast  deal  more  entertaining. 

Beside  the  living  animals  that  either  wander  at  will  in  the 
Park,  and  enjoy  life  after  their  several  fashions,  or  are  shut  up 
in  the  temporary  cages  that  have  been  provided  for  them  until 
the  grounds  and  buildings  of  the  Zoological  Gardens  shall  be 
ready,  the  Commissioners  have  laid  the  foundation  of  a  collec- 
tion of  stuffed  animals,  and  have  already  placed  a  considerable 
number  of  specimens  in  the  halls  of  the  Arsenal.  Since  we  be- 
gan to  write  the  present  account  this  building  has  been  almost 
entirely  remodeled,  and  already  presents  a  very  different  appear- 
ance externally  from  that  which  it  lias  in  the  earlier  sketches 
by  Mr.  Bellows.  The  central  part  of  the  building  has  been 
raised  a  story,  and  the  eight  towers  have  been  covered  with  low- 
pitched,  eight-sided  roofs.  Any  slight  suggestion  of  a  military 
purpose  which  the  edifice  may  have  had  a  year  ago,  has  thus 
been  obliterated,  and  the  interior  has,  beside,  been  fitted  up  to 
serve  better  than  it  used  to  do  the  purposes  of  a  museum,  and 
to  give  better  accommodation  to  the  offices  of  the  Commission. 
In  passing,  we  may  mention  that  on  one  of  the  floors  a  large 
room  at  the  north  end  of  the  building  has  been  appropriated  to 
meteorological  observations  and  investigations,  under  the  imme- 
diate direction  of  a  gentleman  who,  if  appearances  go  for  any 
thing,  is,  undoubtedly,  the  original  Clerk  of  the  Weather.  It 
really  gives  one  a  romantic  shock,  so  to  speak,  to  leave  the  gay 
drives  and  walks  of  the  Park,  all  alive  with  stylish  teams,  and 
turn-outs  of  the  latest  rig,  with  crowds  of  people  dressed  in 
the  very  height  of  the  fashion  of  to-day,  and  to  climb  to  this 
lofty  room,  whose  windows  command,  not  only  all  this  festive 
show,  a  round  of  gala-days,  but  miles  and  miles,  beside,  of  mod- 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK.  151 

ern  wealth  and  splendor,  and  to  find  here  this  little  old-time 
gentleman  just  stepped  out  of  the  Waverlj  Novels — a  very 
Dominie  Sampson — begging  his  pardon,  with  his  queer  little 
queue,  his  powdered  hair,  his  knee-breeches,  and  worsted  stock- 
ings, and  low-cut,  silver-buckled  shoes,  and,  better  still,  an  old- 
time  courtesy  of  manners  such  as  one  rarely  meets  in  these 
scurvy  days !  Here,  all  day,  and,  doubtless,  all  night,  too,  for 
that  matter,  he  lives  among  his  multitude  of  instruments,  and 
watches  with  unwearied  vigilance  the  whims  and  vagaries  of 
his  thermometers,  barometers,  and  rain-gauges,  and  takes  note 
of  all  Nature's  doings  with  his  telescopes,  microscopes,  and  the 
whole  staff  of  mechanical  detectives,  with  which  we  ingenious 
humans  have  surrounded  the  ancient  Dame,  who  must,  by  this 
time,  have  begun  to  despair  of  ever  getting  a  chance  to  work  in 
secret  again.  The  Commissioners  have,  it  seems  to  us,  done  a 
very  good  thing  in  establishing  this  miniature  Observatory  in 
the  Park,  and  in  default  of  an  establishment  such  as  ought 
surely  to  be  found  in  a  city  of  the  size  of  New  York,  and 
would  be,  if  our  fellow-citizens  were  not  so  wholly,  so  fatally, 
absorbed  in  the  one  pursuit  of  money-getting  and  money-spend- 
ing, this  may  serve  as  a  valuable  adjunct  to  institutions  much 
more  pretending.  Here  has  been  established  a  system  of  regu- 
lar meteorological  observations,  comprising  barometrical,  ther- 
mometrical,  and  hygrometrical  observations,  as  also  those  show- 
ing the  force  and  direction  of  the  winds,  and  other  atmospheric 
phenomena.  The  report  of  the  Commission  for  the  year  1867, 
contained  a  series  of  tables  showing  the  results  obtained  by  these 
observations,  on  such  points  as — "  The  heights  of  the  barometer, 
monthly,  during  the  year  1867."  "The  state  of  the  thermometer, 
monthly."  "  The  durations  and  depths  of  rain  and  snow,  monthly." 
''  The  number  of  igneous  meteors  observed,  monthly."  "The  num- 
ber of  luminous  meteors,  monthly ;"  and,  lastly,  "  The  number  of 
thunder  storms,  monthly,"  and  the  days  on  which  they  occurred. 


152  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

These  observations  are  made  useful  to  the  general  public  by 
being  published  at  certain  regular  intervals  in  the  principal 
city  journals  and  scientific  periodicals,  as  well  as  in  the  annual 
Reports  of  the  Commission. 

In  the  other  stories  of  the  Arsenal  are  the  few  stuffed  ani- 
mals which  have  thus  far  been  presented  to  the  Park,  and  those 
of  the  living  animals  in  cages  which  cannot  well  bear  the  ex- 
posure to  the  open  air.  The  stronger  animals,  the  various  foxes, 
the  black  bears,  the  prairie-dogs,  and  the  eagles,  are  in  the  yard 
on  the  east  side  of  the  building.  Within,  we  find  a  collection 
already  extremely  interesting,  and  sure  to  become  more  so  when 
proper  provision  shall  have  been  made  for  the  reception  of 
animals  that  will  hereafter  be  presented.  New  York,  after 
talking  the  matter  over  for  nearly  fifty  years,  has,  at  last,  taken 
the  first  steps  toward  the  formation  of  a  proper  Zoological  Gar- 
den, and  there  is  every  reason  to  hope  that  the  next  Report  of 
the  Commission  may  assure  us  that  it  is  no  longer  a  dream  but 
an  accomplished  fact.  And  it  will  be  interesting  to  note  that 
when  we  get  it,  it  will  prove  to  be  owing  directly  to  the  stimu- 
lus given  by  the  Park  authorities  to  the  public  desire  and  curi- 
osity to  see  and  study  the  animal  world — a  curiosity  as  old  as 
the  oldest  man — for  Adam  was  hardly  more  than  created  before 
he  began  to  study  the  animals  about  him,  and  give  them 
names !  From  the  time  when  a  few  cages  and  enclosed  slips 
of  lawn  near  the  Mall  were  appropriated  to  the  score  or  two 
of  birds,  monkeys,  and  deer,  then  owned  by  the  Park,  it  has 
been  evident  that  nothing  could  be  shown  to  the  people  more 
sure  to  gratify  them,  than  a  fine  collection  of  animals,  domestic 
and  foreign.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  new  enthusiasm 
for  a  Zoological  Garden,  and  by  the  securing  of  Manhattan 
Square,  on  the  western  side  of  the  Eighth  Avenue,  between 
Seventy-seventh  and  Eighty-first  streets,  the  only  real  obstacle, 
namely,  want  of  room,  has  been  removed,  to  our  having  what 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.          153 

so  many  other  great  cities  have  long  enjoyed,  a  complete  garden 
of  animals.  Nor  do  we  despair  of  seeing  set  up  in  the  Arsenal, 
or  in  some  place  more  suitable,  a  series  of  aquarial  cases,  salt 
water  and  fresh,  as  fine  as  that  which  used  to  redeem  Barnum's 
Museum  from  the  reproach  of  total  vulgarity,  and  elevated  it, 
indeed,  to  the  rank,  in  that  regard,  of  a  real  scientific  institu- 
tion. After  all,  to  establish  a  collection  of  aquaria  even  more 
complete  than  that,  would  be  by  no  means  a  difficult  under- 
taking for  the  Commissioners,  and  there  would  be  no  reason 
for  its  not  being  made  a  source  of  revenue  to  the  Park  by  the 
sale  of  small  cases  containing  collections  suited  to  beginners,  or 
of  the  surplus  of  specimens  that  might  be  on  hand  at  the  end 
of  the  year.  The  Park  sells  the  sheep,  the  hay,  the  white  mice 
that  it  does  not  want ;  why  should  it  not  be  allowable  to  quote 
the  income  derived  from  stickle-backs,  sea-anemones,  and  hermit- 
crabs  ? 

These  sea-gardens  are,  however,  things  of  the  future;  mean- 
while, the  Commissioners  are  about  to  take  advantage  of  a  rare 
opportunity  to  enrich  the  Park  with  a  collection  of  models  of 
the  extinct  Fauna,  more  particularly  of  those  that  once  inhabited 
this  Continent.  No  doubt,  some  of  our  readers  have  visited 
in  England  the  gardens  of  the  Sydenham  Crystal  Palace,  and 
have  been  surprised,  delighted,  it  may  be  frightened,  on  com- 
ing, entirely  unprepared,  upon  the  models  of  extinct  animals, 
which  were  constructed,  perhaps  ten  years  ago,  for  the  pro- 
prietors of  that  wonderful  museum,  by  Mr.  Waterhouse  Haw- 
kins, a  gentleman  well  known,  now  in  New  York,  by  his  re- 
markable lectures  on  geology  and  the  antediluvians,  delivered 
in  this  city  during  the  winter  of  1867-8.  "  Who  that  has  seen 
them  can  ever  forget  the  feelings  with  which,  on  coming  out 
from  the  narrow,  tunnel-like  cut  in  the  rocks,  he  suddenly  found 
himself  face  to  face,  first  with  one  and  then  with  another,  of  the 
gigantic  reptiles  and  quadrupeds  that  made  the  ancient  world 


l.VJ.  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

hideous.  Perhaps  he  had  read  of  these  monsters  with  eager 
curiosity  in  Cuvier,  or  Lyell,  or  Mantell,  or  had  seen  in  the 
British  Museum,  or  elsewhere,  their  fossil  remains,  wonderful  to 
look  at,  however  crushed  or  dislocated  or  incomplete.  But  here, 
at  Sydenham,  he  stood  in  their  very  presence,  and  received  for 
the  first  time,  a  living  impression  of  what  these  creatures  really 
were.  And  if  he  stayed  long  enough  to  study  them,  he  must 
have  come  away  with  a  new  interest  in  geology,  and  with  a 
feeling  of  indebtedness  to  the  clever  and  learned  man  who  had 
re-created  these  extinct  beings  for  him,  out  of  the  scattered  re- 
mains that  are  left  of  them."*  Mr.  Hawkins,  as  we  have  said, 
has  been  engaged  to  perform  the  same  good  office  for  us  that 
he  has  already  performed  for  England,  and  it  will  not  be  long 
before  we  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  looking  at  the  express  images 
of  the  Mastadon,  Megatherium,  Plesiosaurus,  and  Iguanodon,  as 
they  lived,  and  moved,  and  had  their  mighty  beings,  in  the  far 
away  dusk  of  the  primeval  ages.  Just  where  they  are  to  be 
placed  we  do  not  know ;  perhaps  the  Commission  has  not  yet 
fulhr  decided  where  they  can  be  most  advantageously  built  up — 
ay,  "  built  up,"'  that  is  the  word,  for  these  are  to  be  structures, 
edifices,  buildings!  Nothing  less  than  brick,  mortar,  stones,  and 
timbers  can  be  employed  to  construct  creatures  beside  whom  the 
largest  of  living  quadrupeds,  reptiles,  or  birds  would  have  looked 
pigmy  and  starved.  But  whatever  place  may  be  fixed  upon,  we 
hope  that  it  will  be  one,  as  nearly  as  possible,  resembling  that 
in  the  Sydenham  Gardens,  where  the  surroundings  may  assist 
the  imagination  of  the  spectator  in  taking  in  the  idea  of  these 
monsters  and  their  relations  to  the  actual  earth.  They  will  not, 
we  trust,  be  put  under  cover,  or  placed  on  pedestals,  or  in  any 
way  made  a  formal  show  of.  Half  their  effect,  we  may  almost  say 
half  their  usefulness  will  be  destroyed  if  they  are  not  given  a 

*  Putnam's  Monthlv,  Jmie.    18(58. 


X  E  \V    Y  0  R  K    G  B  N'  T  11  A  L    V  ARK.  155 

it.  as  near  as  may  be,  like  the  one  they  enjoyed  while  in 
the  flesh.  When  Mr.  Hawkins  has  brought  us  into  the  very 
presence  where — 

'•Behemoth,  biggest  born  of  earth,  upheaves 
His  vastness," 

surrounded  by  all  the  giant  brood  that,  happily  for  man,  are 
long  sinco  vanished  from  his  world;  and  when  the  long  prom- 
ised Zoological  Gardens,  and  the  hoped-for  Aquaria  shall  have 
been  completed,  we  shall  have  in  our  own  New  York  a  worthy 
rival  to  the  famous  institutions  of  London  and  Paris,  the  Zoo- 
logical Gardens  and  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  and  it  will  be  our 
own  fault  if  they  do  not,  in  time,  become  as  famous  as  their 
models. 


As  we  have  several  times  alluded  to  the  gates  of  the  Park, 
perhaps  this  will  be  as  good  an  opportunity  as  we  shall  find,  to 
speak  of  this  important  subject.  Up  to  this  time,  owing  to  the 
condition  of  the  grades  of  the  two  avenues,  the  Eighth  and  the 
Fifth,  it  has  been  considered  advisable  by  the  Commissioners 
that  as  little  as  possible  should  be  done  in  the  matter  of  the  en- 
closing walls  of  the  Park,  and  that  the  whole  subject  of  the 
gates  giving  access  to  the  interior  should  be  postponed  until  those 
grades  shall  have  been  irrevocably  fixed,  and  the  walls  them- 
selves in  an  advanced  state  of  completion.  But,  even  if  we  did 
not  know  the  fact  to  have  been  so,  it  would  not  require  any  very 
profound  knowledge  of  human  nature  to  predict  that  a  general 
impatience  would  be  felt  at  the  prolonged  postponement  of  the 
gateways,  or  that  a  strong  effort  would  be  made  to  force  the 
public  to  accept  the  design  of  some  ambitious  individual.  No 
doubt  the  patience  of  the  Commissioners  has  been  severely  tried 
in  the  effort  to  resist  both  public  and  private  importunity,  and 


156  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

thanks  are  due  them  for  this  evidence,  as  for  so  many  others,  of 
their  determination  to  refuse  their  consent  to  any  proposition  that, 
in  their  judgment,  would  not  serve  the  real  interests  of  the  pub- 
lic in  the  Park. 

"In  the  month  of  June,  1803,  the  Board,  by  advertisements 
in  the  newspapers,  offered  a  premium  of  five  hundred  dollars 
for  the  best  set  of  designs  for  the  four  gateways  in  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  Park.  In  answer  to  the  offer  of  the  Board, 
twenty-one  designs  wrere  submitted,  no  one  of  which,  after  ex- 
amination, seemed  to  the  Board  calculated  fully  to  meet  the 
expectations  of  the  public,  though  several  of  them  presented 
features  of  merit.  None  of  them  were  accepted,  and  the  pre- 
mium-money was  directed  to  be  divided  among  the  competitors ; 
subsequently,  sketches  for  the  four  southerly  gateways  of  the 
southerly  boundary  of  the  Park  were  approved,  in  their  general 
features,  and  their  erection  authorized."  These  few  words  in 
their  Seventh  Annual  Report  (1863),  contain  the  only  allusion 
ever  publicly  made  by  the  Commissioners  to  a  subject  which 
gave  rise,  at  the  time,  to  no  small  amount  of  newspaper  contro- 
versy, and  to,  at  least,  one  book  of  considerable  pretensions. 

The  sketches  alluded  to  in  the  paragraph  quoted  above,  were 
made  by  Mr.  Richard  M.  Hunt,  an  architect  of  this  city.  His 
designs  were  accepted  by  the  Commissioners  too  hastily,  owing 
to  a  pressure  from  the  public  for  the  erection  of  gates  of  some 
kind,  and  to  a  pressure  from  within,  for  the  erection  of  these 
gates  in  particular.  For  we  are  sure  that  no  deliberate  and  un- 
prejudiced study  of  them  could  ever  have  resulted  in  their  being 
accepted.  Without  going  into  details  of  criticism,  it  may  be 
enough  to  say,  that  they  were  entirely  out  of  keeping  with  every 
thing  else  in  the  Park ;  that  they  called  for  extensive  and  costly 
changes  in  the  grades,  and  in  the  laying  out  of  the  surface  of 
the  Park  directly  about  them ;  and  that  they  were  all  dependent 
for  any  effect  or  beauty  they  were  expected  to  have,  upon  statu- 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PA  R  K .  157 

ary,  which,  being  cheap  upon  paper,  was  largely  used  by  the  de- 
signer, but  which  would  have  made  them,  supposing  the  best 
sculptors  to  have  been  employed,  expensive  beyond  all  bounds 
of  reason.  Apart  from  the  sculpture  heaped  upon  them,  they 
had  nothing  to  recommend  them  to  an  educated  taste,  and  very 
little  to  catch  even  the  popular  eye. 

While  the  Commission  itself  might  have  been  divided  upon 
this  subject,  there  was  found  to  be  very  little  division  in  the 
minds  of  the  public,  when  the  designs  were  presented  to  them 
for  criticism.  A  certain  popular  feeling  manifested  itself,  as  well 
by  the  public  silence,  as  by  any  pointed  or  spoken  speech,  against 
the  adoption  of  these  designs,  and  the  Commissioners,  feeling  this 
plainly  enough,  determined  to  wait  until  they  could  be  satisfied 
that  the  most  intelligent  public  opinion  would  authorize  them  in 
carrying  out  their  first  intention.  They  waited,  therefore,  and 
this  delay  was  fatal  to  Mr.  Hunt's  aspirations.  After  every 
opinion  that  was  offered  to  the  Board,  in  public  or  in  private, 
had  been  examined,  there  could  be  but  one  result  discovered — 
a  decree  of  condemnation,  and  the  Commissioners,  considering 
themselves  the  servants  of  the  public,  decided  to  leave  the  whole 
matter  where  it  was  before  their  call  for  a  competition  in  1863. 
In  1865 — May  llth — at  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  it  was  formally 
resolved,  "That  all  work  on  the  gateways  of  the  Park  be  de- 
ferred till  the  further  order  of  the  Board/'  And  this  officially 
closed  the  whole  matter  as  between  Mr.  Hunt,  the  Commissioners, 
and  the  public. 

It  is,  of  course,  to  be  desired  that,  as  soon  as  is  possible,  the 
boundary-wall  of  the  Park  should  be  completed,  and  gates  set 
up  at  all  the  entrances.  But  we  venture  to  hope  that  the  good 
taste  thus  far  shown  by  the  architects  of  the  Park,  and  by  the 
Commission  will  not  fail  them  at  this  important  stage  of  the 
work,  and  that  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  they  will  be  strong 
enough  to  avoid  every  thing  savoring  of  ostentation,  affectation, 


158 


DESCRIPTION'    <JF    T  II  K 


or  mere  vulgar  display  of  ornaments  and  decorative  features  with 
nothing  behind,  or  beneath  them,  of  use.  There  ought,  in  our 
opinion,  to  be  two  principal  gates  on  the  southern  boundary- 
line  :  one  at  the  southeast  angle — Fifth  Avenue  and  Fifty-ninth 
Street;  the  other  at  the  southwest  angle — Fifty-ninth  Street  and 
Eighth  Avenue.  The  first  of  them  is  the  one  to  which  the 
Commissioners  have  given  the  name  of  the  Scholars'  Gate;  the 
second  is  to  be  known  as  the  Merchants'  Gate.  The  point 
chosen  for  the  Scholars'  Gate  is  distinctly  marked  by  its  neigh- 
borhood to  the  pretty  il  Pond,"  as  it  is  called,  to  distinguish  it 


POND  NEAK  THE   SCHOLARS*    GATE. 


from  the  larger  sheet  of  water  near  the  Terrace  named  the  Lake. 
The  Merchants'  Gate  is  at  present  indicated  by  the  bronze  statue 
of  Commerce,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken.  At  both  these 
points  the  ground  has  been  so  shaped  and  graded  as  to  afford 
most  favorable  positions  for  gates  as  dignified,  and  as  richly 
decorated,  as  the  city  can  afford.  But  this  cannot  be  said  of 
the  greater  number  of  the  entrances,  nor  is  it  desirable  that  the 
gates  should  all  be  equally  magnificent  or  expensive.  For  our 
part,  we  confess  that  we  have  an  objection  to  the  expending  of 


XEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  159 

a  great  deal  of  thought,  or  a  great  deal  of  money,  upon  mere 
gateways.  Decorative  design,  as  Ruskin  has  so  well  shown,  be- 
longs to  places  where  men  rest,  where  they  have  leisure  and 
opportunity  to  enjoy  it.  The  same  law  that  orders  decoration, 
especially  such  as  is  delicately  minute,  to  be  placed  on  the  lower 
stories  of  buildings  where  it  can  be  studied  and  enjoyed,  dictates 
that  it  should  not  be  wasted  on  places  whose  very  purpose  for- 
bids that  we  should  pause  in  them  long  enough  to  appreciate 
the  artist's  skill,  or  to  penetrate  his  thought.  Such  a  place  is  a 
gateway,  which,  while  it  ought,  no  doubt,  to  be  distinctly  marked 
and  defined,  ought  rather  to  make  upon  the  mind  some  single 
impression  of  grandeur  or  beauty,  than  to  call  for  a  stay  in 
one's  walk  or  drive  sufficiently  long  to  study,  and  understand, 
and  enjoy,  the  minute  beauties  of  its  design.  There  is  always, 
perhaps,  a  certain  pleasure  in  passing  under  a  lofty  arch  of 
beautiful  form,  and  gateways  of  this  description  admit  of  great 
variety  of  design,  with  the  addition  of  whatever  statuary  may 
be  thought  suitable.  But,  after  all,  the  gateway  itself  ought  to 
be  the  important  thing;  it  should  be  both  effective  and  useful, 
should  have  evidently  something  more  than  a  merely  ornamental 
part  to  play,  and  should  especially  avoid  any  thing  looking  like 
an  encouragement  to  loafers,  and  idle  people  generally,  to  linger 
about  it,  staring  and  gazing  in  listless  curiosity.  The  one  use 
of  a  gate  is  to  afford  ingress  and  egress.  It  may  be  made,  to  a 
certain  degree,  commemorative  or  monumental,  but,  so  sure  as 
we  attempt  to  make  it  either  of  these  first,  and  merely  useful, 
last,  we  shall  have  a  result  that  will  be  less  and  less  satisfactory 
to  the  public,  as  good  taste  becomes  more  and  more  extended 
and  confirmed. 


We  can  either  leave  the  Ramble  on  the  east  by  descending 
the  steps  cut  in  the  Belvedere  rock,  and  keeping  to  the  left,  by 


160  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

doing  which  we  shall  come  out  at  the  stone  carriage-step  where 
we  entered ;  or  bv  taking  the  path  that  runs  along1  the  very  edge 

«/    *  J.  «/  t_J 

of  the  Reservoir,  between  it  and  the  traffic-road  that  tunnels  the 
hill  at  this  point.  Reaching  the  southeastern  angle  of  the  Res- 
ervoir, we  descend  rapidly,  and  find  ourselves  passing  across  a 
wide  and  little-broken  tract  lying  between  the  Reservoir  and  the 
Fifth  Avenue.  This  lawn-like  expanse  is  crossed  only  by  the 
carriage-road  and  the  bridle-path,  which,  at  one  point,  passes 
under  the  drive  by  a  very  pretty  archway,  lined  with  buff'  and 
red  bricks,  and  with  picturesque  entrances  of  brown  stone.  Up 
to  within  a  year  or  two  of  the  present  time  the  Reservoir  on  this 
side  has  been  particularly  unsightly,  there  being  nothing  to  hide 
its  bare  and  roughly  constructed  wall  with  the  plain  picket-fence 
running  along  the  top.  But  the  trees  that  were  early  planted 
against  it  are  now  well  grown,  and,  in  1866,  the  Croton  Board, 
relaxing  a  little  in  their  love  of  the  stiff,  good-naturedly  con- 
sented to  cut  the  picket-fence  down  to  a  less  awkwardly  con- 
spicuous height,  and  even  if  the  Board  should  not  think  well 
of  the  notion  of  putting  a  stone  railing  of  agreeable  form  in 
place  of  the  picket-fence,  we  may  hope  that  nature  will  soon 
show  her  entire  want  of  sympathy  with  these  matter-of-fact  peo- 
ple by  running  a  beautiful  Gothic  sky-line  of  tree-tops  just  above 
the  monotonous  pickets.  This  is  the  only  device  that  can  be 
relies  on  for  escape  from  these  eyesores,  for  it  is  too  much  to  hope 
that  the  Reservoir  itself  will  ever  be  done  away  with,  and,  so  long 
as  it  stands,  it  is,  of  course,  a  thing  only  to  be  endured,  and,  as 
much  as  possible,  to  be  hid. 

Near  the  northeast  angle  of  the  Reservoir,  in  a  triangular  plot 
formed  by  its  wall  with  the  foot-path  and  the  third  traffic-road, 
is  to  be  placed  ''The  Maze,"  which  will,  no  doubt,  be  a  very 
popular  amusement  for  children,  for  whose  use  it  has  been  es- 
pecially contrived.  Yet,  after  all,  there  was  a  time,  and  that  a 
very  pleasant  one,  too,  when  grown-up  people  enjoyed  being  puz- 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  161 

zled  by  a  Maze,  and  when  no  place  of  any  pretensions  to  size  and 
grandeur  was  without  one.  This  was  in  Anne's  time  and  those 
of  the  first  Georges',  and,  indeed,  the  fashion  continued  down  to 
the  beginning  of  the  century.  Cowper,  who  wrote  upon  any 
thing  and  every  thing,  and  whose  verse  enshrines  so  many  of 
the  fashionable  follies  of  the  day,  like  flies  in  amber,  made  this 
trifle,  probably  at  the  call  of  some  one  of  his  many  friends:— 

THE    MAZE. 

From  right  to  left,  and  to  and  fro, 
Caught  in  a  labyrinth,  you  go, 
And  turn,  and  turn,  and  turn  again 
To  solve  the  mystery,  but  in  vain; 
Stand  still  and  breathe,  and  take  from  me 
A  clew  that  soon  shall  set  you  free ! 
Not  Ariadne,  if  you  met  her, 
Herself  could  serve  you  with  a  better. 
You  entered  easily — find  where — 
And  make,  with  ease,  your  exit  there! 

At  this  point,  the  foot-path  strikes  into  the  carriage-road,  and 
both  together  make  a  rapid  curve  to  the  east,  in  order  to  reach 
the  extremely  narrow  space  that  lies  between  the  new  Reservoir 
and  the  Fifth  Avenue,  and  gives  access  to  the  upper  park.  Here, 
too,  the  drive  crosses  the  third  traffic-road,  which,  passing  be- 
tween the  two  Reservoirs,  and  following  the  curving  southern 
side  of  the  new  one,  is  the  least  direct  in  its  course  of  all  the 
four,  issuing  on  the  Fifth  Avenue  at  Eighty-fifth  Street,  and  on 
Eighth  Avenue  at  Eighty-sixth  Street.  At  the  point  where  the 
carriage-drive  crosses  the  traffic-road,  a  flight  of  steps  with  plat- 
forms leads  to  the  foot-path  that  runs  round  the  new  Reservoir. 
As  this  structure  covers  an  area  of  one  hundred  and  six  acres, 
stretching  very  nearly  from  one  side  of  the  Park  to  the  other, 
it  would  have  been  a  serious  drawback  to  the  beauty  and  use- 
fulness of  the  Park  as  a  pleasure-ground,  if  there  had  been  no 
means  of  enjoying  the  sight  of  this  great  sheet  of  water.  Bat 

21 


102  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

a  foot-path  has  been  carried  round  the  entire  circuit  of  this  in- 
land sea,  and  the-  bridle-road  also  runs  round  it,  though  at  a 
somewhat  lower  level  than  the  foot-path,  in  places.  It  will  be 
seen,  on  referring  to  the  Plan,  that  the  bridle-road,  after  striking 
directly  across  the  Park  at  a  point  nearly  opposite  the  Arsenal, 
and  passing  three  times  under  the  main  drive,  continues  in  a 
winding  course  up  the  western  side  of  the  Park,  between  the 
main  drive  and  the  Eighth  Avenue,  until  it  reaches  the  north- 
western angle  of  the  smaller  Reservoir.  Here  it  divides  to  right 
and  left,  completely  encircling  the  new  Reservoir,  as  we  have 
said,  and,  excepting  in  one  or  two  places  where  it  dips,  com- 
manding a  view  of  the.  water  all  the  way.  On  the  northern 
side  of  the  Reservoir  there  are  three  points  where  this  circuit 
can  be  left  for  the  lower  level,  acd  it  can  also  be  left  or  entered, 
directly,  at  the  Engineers'  Gate — Fifth  Avenue  and  Ninetieth 
Street.  At  either  end  of  the  Reservoir — if  a  structure  so  irregu- 
lar in  outline  may  be  said  to  have  ends  at  all — we  come  upon 
the  two  water-gates  by  which  the  in  flow  and  out-flow  of  the 
stream  is  regulated.  These  gates  are  very  conspicuous,  and, 
also,  very  ugly.  If  they  were  plain,  four-square  structures  with 
ordinary  pitched  roofs,  and  mere  unornamented  openings  for 
windows  and  doors,  there  would  have  been  no  particular  fault 
to  find  with  them,  and  if  we  could  not,  in  that  case  more  than 
this,  call  them  handsome,  at  least  we  could  not  call  them  ugly. 
Ugliness  is  never  a  mere  negation,  it  is  always  positive;  and 
these  gate-houses  are  ugly  because  they  pretend  to  be  decora- 
tive; they  offend  by  what  they  have,  not  by  what  they  want 
Up  to  this  time,  engineers  all  the  world  over  have  practically 
insisted  on  the  necessity  of  a  complete  divorce  between  useful- 
ness and  beauty.  Brought  up  on  the  geometry  of  the  schools,  the 
geometry  of  rule  and  compass,  they  are  not  aware,  that  is,  they 
act  as  if  they  were  not  aware,  that  there  is  any  other  sort  of 
geometry  in  existence.  Yet  it  may  safely  be  asserted  that  while 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 

there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  straight  line  in  nature,  the  edges  of 
crystals  alone  excepted,  there  is  also  no  such  thing  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth  as  an  object  bounded  or  marked  with  accurate 
geometric  curves;  the  nearest  approach  to  an  exception  with 
which  we  are  acquainted  being  the  involutions  of  certain  shells. 
Scientifically,  this  may  be  reckoned  a  loose  statement,  because, 
of  course,  every  curve  whatsoever  is  capable  of  being  reduced 
to  geometric  laws,  but  we  mean  to  say  that  all  natural  curves 
are  with  great  difficulty  reducible  to  geometric  rules,  and  that 
nature,  to  speak  with  familiarity,  draws  with  eye  and  hand,  not 
with  line  and  compass.  And,  again,  it  is  a  universal  law,  that 
nature's  beauty  is  never  extraneous,  that  her  ornamentatioii  is 
always  structural ;  and  it  is  capable  of  proof  upon  proof,  that  all 
enduring  beauty  in  human  work,  and  all  the  best  ornament  in 
that  work,  of  whatever  age,  has  followed  nature's  law  in  this, 
and  been  structural,  not  applied :  in  the  nature  of  the  thing, 
not  in  any  outside  and  removable  shell  or  covering. 

Now  the  engineer  has  not  been  educated  to  think  it  neces- 
sary to  consider  "beauty"  in  designing  his  buildings,  and  if,  in 
a  moment  of  weakness,  he  is  seized  with  a  desire  to  rival  the 
artist,  and  consents  to  try  what  he  can  do  to  make  his  work- 
decorative,  he  is  sure  to  produce  some  such  result  as  we  see  in 
these  new  Reservoir  gate-houses,  where  the  stumpy  corner-tur- 
rets are  meant  to  be  purely  decorative,  serving  no  useful  purpose 
whatever.  Now,  until  engineers  can  be  brought,  by  education. 
to  see  that  there  is  no  antagonism  between  use  and  real  beauty, 
we,  for  our  part,  would  much  prefer  that  they  should  hold  closely 
to  their  utilitarian  theory,  and  continue  to  swear  by  straight  lines, 
circles,  and  arcs  of  circles,  and  even,  if  they  like,  to  deny  the 
existence  of  beauty  altogether.  But  we  cannot  help  thinking 
that  the  day  must  come  when  engineers,  architects,  and  artists 
everywhere,  will  strike  hands,  and  works  of  great  public  utility 
will  no  longer  necessarily  conflict  with  the  higher  utility  of  being 


Ifi4  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

at  one  with  nature,  and  helping,  not  thwarting,  the  spiritual  needs 
of  man.  We  think  there  is  good  reason  for  complaint  when  a 
beautiful  landscape  is  seriously  marred  by  the  erection  of  some 
useful  building,  or  other  structure,  whose  engineer  has  consid- 
ered the  landscape  as  a  matter  of  no  concern  whatever.  The 
tubular  bridge  over  the  Menai  Strait,  although  not  a  work  of 
absolute  necessity,  may  be  admitted  a  useful  work,  but  all  trav- 
ellers of  taste  and  feeling  are  agreed  that  it  is  one  of  the  ugliest 
structures  in  existence,  and  by  its  size  and  conspicuous  position, 
a  great  deformity  in  the  landscape.  We  maintain  that  there  was 
no  need  of  this,  that  if  the  engineers  who  contrived  it  had  been 
educated  as  engineers  some  day  will  be,  they  would  have  thought 
out  the  problem  with  an  instinct  for  beauty  as  strong  in  them  as 
the  instinct  for  science,  and  made  the  Menai  Bridge  as  lovely  as 
Salisbury  Spire.  Indeed,  the  greatest  engineers  the  world  has 
ever  seen  were  the  Gothic  architects  of  the  thirteenth  and  four- 
teenth centuries ;  they  solved  the  problem  of  combining  use  and 
beauty  perfectly,  and  their  buildings  are  equally  wonderful, 
whether  we  study  their  construction  or  their  ornamentation. 
This  talk  of  ours,  the  reader  will  please  remember,  is  taking 
place  in  front  of  the  Engineers'  Gate,  and  therefore  cannot  be 
objected  to  as  malapropos.  Nor  would  we  be  thought  ungrateful 
to  the  engineers  of  the  Central  Park  who  have  done  here  a  vast 
deal  of  thorough  and  intelligent  work,  much  of  which  is  hid  from 
the  public  eye,  and  can  only  be  valued  at  its  worth  by  those  who 
look  deeper  than  the  surface. 

The  road  that  runs  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  new  Res- 
ervoir is  planted  on  each  side  with  a  double  row  of  trees,  which 
have  already  made  a  fine  growth,  and,  in  time,  this  part  of  the 
main  drive  will  pleasantly  match  the  Mall,  which  it  even  now 
resembles.  The  Commissioners  had,  here,  a  real  difficulty  to  sur- 
mount, and  they  have  done  it  cleverly,  as  we  have  already  seen 
them  do  many  things  in  other  parts  of  the  Park.  The  problem 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 

was,  to  use  to  the  best  advantage  the  extremely  narrow  and 
elongated  soace  between  the  new  Reservoir  and  the  Fifth  Ave- 
nue. The  whole  width  between  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Reservoir 
coping  and  the  Park  wall,  is  two  hundred  feet,  and  the  length 
of  road  running  along  the  Reservoir  on  this  side  is,  as  near  as 
we  can  make  it,  two  thousand  feet.  The  space  is,  thus,  by  no 
means  well  proportioned,  yet,  in  it,  the  Commissioners  have  se- 
cured a  foot-path,  a  bridle-road,  and  the  extremely  pretty  car- 
riage-drive over  which  we  are  now  trotting  leisurely  behind  our 
imaginary  team.  The  foot-path  we  have  already  alluded  to ;  it 
runs  close  around  the  edge  of  the  water,  only  separated  from  it  by 
the  coping  of  cut  stone  with  its  iron  railing.  The  round  of  this 
Reservoir  makes  an  admirable  "constitutional;"  the  walk  is  in 
good  order  in  almost  all  weather,  and  a  fine  breeze  is  pretty 
sure  to  be  stirring  up  here,  no  matter  how  calm  it  may  be  below. 
So  large  a  body  of  water  may  generally  be  reckoned  on  for  waves 
of  its  own,  and  occasionally  we  have  had  the  pleasure  of  being 
well  dashed  with  spray.  The  wind  has  to  be  high,  however,'to 
accomplish  this.  From  all  points,  the  view  is  fine,  and  it  is  a 
glorious  place  from  which  to  see  sunsets.  Many  a  time  have  we 
taken  this  walk  for  no  other  end  but  to  enjoy  the  evening  sky, 
and  we  must  always  have  cheerful  memories  of  a  place  that, 
after  weary  days  spent  in  the  dirty  city,  has  so  often  lifted  us 
into  an  atmosphere  where  all  unpleasant  experiences  were,  for  a 
time,  forgotten.  Next  to  the  foot-path  but  not,  like  it,  always 
on  one  level,  runs  the  bridle-path,  also  encircling  the  Reservoir. 
Midway  on  this  eastern  side,  it  can  be  left  for  the  carriage-road, 
or  for  the  Engineers'  Gate,  and  there  are  several  other  places 
where  it  can  be  left  or  entered  at  the  horseman's  pleasure.  Our 
narrow  space  of  four  hundred  feet  has,  thus  far,  generously  ac- 
commodated two  paths:  the  remainder  is  occupied  by  the  car- 
riage-drive. This  portion  of  the  drive  it  was  necessary  to  make 
perfectly  straight,  and  it  is  the  only  place  in  the  Park  where  the 


166  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

Commissioners  have  not  been  able  to  avoid  putting  temptation 
in  the  way  of  the  owners  of  fast  horses.  Fast  driving  is  not  only 
forbidden  by  the  rules,  but  the  roads  have  everywhere  been 
laid  out  with  such  curves  as  to  rob  racing  of  its  charms.  Here, 
however,  is  a  smooth,  level,  excellently  paved  course  of  two 
thousand  feet  in  length,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
men  who  own  trotters  are,  every  little  while,  found  unable  to 
resist  the  temptation  to  defy  the  Commissioners  and  let  their 
horses  try  their  mettle.  The  police  in  this  part  of  the  Park 
has  to  be  constantly  on  the  alert,  and  the  crop  of  arrested  Jehus 
is  always  fine  in  this  quarter.  In  four  years,  1863-66,  the  num- 
ber arrested  for  fast  driving  was  somewhat  greater  than  that  of 
those  arrested  for  all  other  offences  put  together,  being  as  232  to 
209,  although  this  was  not  a  very  large  number  when  all  the 
temptations  to  disobedience  are  taken  into  account.  In  truth, 
the  arrests  in  the  Park,  taken  altogether,  are  much  fewer  than 
would  be  expected,  and  it  would  seem  by  the  reports  that  they 
decrease  yearly  in  proportion  to  the  whole  number  of  visitors; 
at  all  events,  they  do  not  increase.  Thus,  in  1866,  the  arrests 
were  only  in  the  proportion  of  1  to  about  75,000  visitors,  while 
in  186T,  the  proportion  was  only  1  to  about  60,000.  Those  ar 
rested  for  fast  driving  are  immediately  taken  before  the  nearest 
magistrate  by  the  policeman  making  the  arrest,  and  are  fined, 
oif-hand,  ten  dollars.  It  is  gratifying  to  be  able  to  state  that 
the  magistrates,  almost  without  exception,  stand  by  the  Park 
authorities,  and  wrhen  the  offence  is  proved,  exact  the  fine  with- 
out fear  or  favor.  In  New  York,  where  justice  is  administered 
almost  exclusively  as  a  reward  for  agreement  in  political  opin- 
ions with  the  judge,  or  as  a  punishment  for  political  differences, 
and  is  only  looked  upon  as  an  expedient  for  securing  votes,  the 
fact  that  judges  can  be  relied  upon  to  fine  Democrats  and  Republi- 
cans alike,  and  to  prevent  the  Park  from  lapsing  into  a  sporting 
ground  for  roughs,  is,  certainly,  worthy  of  being  specially  noted. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  167 

Once  at  the  end  of  this  avenue,  we  turn  rapidly  to  the  left, 
and  find  ourselves  fairly  in  the  upper  park.  Now  that  the  lower 
division  is  so  nearly  completed — hardly  any  thing  remaining  to 
be  done  there  but  to  finish  certain  architectural  structures,  such 
as  the  Terrace,  and  the  separate  play-houses  for  the  boys,  girls, 
and  little  children — the  Commissioners  are  pushing  on  the  im- 
provements in  the  upper  portion  of  the  area.  All  over  the  Park, 
we  believe,  the  roads  and  foot-paths  are  either  completed,  or  in 
a  fair  way  to  be  so,  and  only  need  to  be  kept  in  repair.  All 
the  solid  work,  the  foundation,  is  done,  and  time,  and  the  new 
needs  of  the  hour,  will  develop  the  ornamented  points.  Up  to 
this  time,  as  appears  by  the  last  report,  the  eleventh,  the  total 
expenditures  for  the  Park,  from  May  1st,-  1857,  to  January  1st, 
1868,  have  amounted  to  five  million,  one  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand,  two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  dollars,  and  eleven  cents, 
leaving  a  balance  in  the  treasury  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-six 
thousand  and  seventy-six  dollars  and  fifty-one  cents.  We  doubt 
if  so  large  a  sum  of  money  was  ever  more  judiciously  expended 
by  any  government,  for  the  culture  and  enjoyment  of  the  people ; 
and  no  less  are  we  to  be  congratulated  on  the  exceptional  fact, 
that,  from  first  to  last,  the  management  of  the  Park  has  been  so 
prudent,  so  honest,  and  so  wise,  that  it  has  never  been  called  in 
question  by  any  persons  speaking  with  authority.  When,  in 
1361,  a  committee  was  appointed,  at  the  instigation  of  a  few 
malcontents — disappointed  ex-commissioners  and  discharged  offi- 
cers— to  examine  into  the  affairs,  condition,  and  progress  of  the 
Park ;  the  report  of  the  committee  was  unanimous  in  its  ap- 
proval of  all  that  had  been  done,  and  commended  the  entire 
management  of  the  Park  to  the  Legislature  and  people  of  the 
State.  It  may  be  added  that  this  committee  was  peculiarly  com- 
petent to  the  examination  it  was  set  to  make,  being  composed  of 
the  Hon.  John  McLeod  Murphy,  widely  known  as  an  engineer  of 
skill  and  experience,  the  Hon.  Allen  Monroe,  an  experienced  mer- 


168 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


chant  and  banker,  and  the  Hon.  Francis  M.  Rotch,  a  vice-president 
of  the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society,  and  a  well-known 
agriculturist. 

The  portion  of  the  Park  that  seems  to  be  the  least  advanced 
is  the  region  lying  between  the  northern  end  of  the  new  Res- 
ervoir, Ninety-sixth  Street,  and  the  vicinity  of  the  Museum  at 
Mount  St.  Vincent,  One-Hundred-and-Second  Street.  Just  be- 
yond this  point,  the  grounds  look  more  trim,  and,  as  the  carriage 


THE  MUSEUM  AND  BESTAUKAXT  FROM  HABLEM   MEEIt. 


stops  at  the  museum,  the  visitor  observes  with  pleasure  that  this 
building  which,  not  a  great  while  ago,  was  a  forlorn  barracks, 
has  been  made  by  the  hand  of  care  and  taste  to  assume  a  very 
agreeable  appearance,  a  truly  domestic  air,  to  which  its  irregular 
shape  and  rambling  rooms  are  found  quite  conducive.  We  have 
called  this  a  museum,  but  it  is  rather  a  large  restaurant,  the 
museum  being  only  that  portion  of  the  building  formerly  occu- 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK.  169 

pied  by  the  chapel  of  the  convent.  This  is  filled,  at  present, 
with  the  casts  of  the  late  Mr.  Crawford's  various  sculptures, 
which  were  presented  to  the  Central  Park  by  his  widow,  in 
1860.  There  are,  in  all,  eighty-seven  of  these  casts,  consisting 
of  statues,  bas-reliefs,  and  sketches,  and  as  they  are  arranged 
in  this  large  and  ample  hall  they  present  quite  an  imposing  ap- 
pearance, and  prove  a  great  attraction  to  multitudes  of  people. 
The  sculpture-gallery  can  be  entered  directly  from  the  house, 
or  by  an  elevated  gallery,  roofed,  but  open  on  each  side,  which 
connects  it  with  the  opposite  end  of  the  building.  From  this 
gallery,  and  from  the  balconies  of  the  house,  a  fine  view  is  ob- 
tained of  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  Park,  and  of  the  city  in 
that  direction.  As  we  eat  our  ices,  we  look  down  upon  the 
lawns  with  their  rococo  beds  of  flowers,  their  fountains  playing 
airy  tricks  like  their  neighbors  of  the  Terrace,  and,  beside  these, 
the  nursery  and  kitchen-garden,  where  persons  of  a  rural  turn 
of  mind  may  learn  the  look  of  vegetables  when  growing.  Here 
the  citizen,  whose  education  has  been  neglected,  may  learn  that 
cabbages  do  not  grow  upon  bushes  like  roses,  that  green  peas 
are  not  the  fruit  of  a  tree,  and  that  tomatoes  are  not  produced 
by  nature,  ready  canned.  Information  of  this  kind  is  at  once 
so  rare  and  so  valuable,  that  we  cannot  doubt  the  Commissioners 
have  done  well  in  appropriating  this  patch  for  its  dissemination. 
Indeed  it  serves  a  double  use,  for,  as  the  Eleventh  Report  as- 
sures us,  "The  vegetables  which,  while  growing,  serve  the  pur- 
pose of  instruction,  are  used,  when  ripe,  to  feed  the  animals." 

The  Restaurant,  to  which  the  main  body  of  this  building  is 
devoted,  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  places  of  the  kind  in  the  city 
or  near  it  There  are  large  rooms  with  many  tables  for  those 
who  like  a  crowd,  and  there  are  small  rooms  with  few  tables,  or 
only  one,  for  those  who  wish  to  enjoy,  in  private,  the  society 
of  their  friends.  Then,  there  are  the  piazzas,  the  balconies,  and 

the  open  grounds,  where  creams,  ices,  and  light  refreshments  can 
22 


170 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


be  enjoyed  in  the  fresh  air,  and  thus  it  would  seem  that  every 
taste  must  be  suited.  The  grass  and  flowers  are  beautiful,  and 
\vell  cared  for,  the  fountains  fill  the  air  with  coolness  and  pleas- 
ant sound,  and,  before  long,  a  band  equal  to  that  in  the  lower 


park  will  discourse  as  eloquent 
music,  and  divide  with  that,  the 
suffrages  of  the  crowd. 

Just  beyond  the  Kestaurant- 
Museum  the  road  makes  a  sharp 
double  turn,  keeping  inside  the 
line  of  the  old  fortifications,  and 
skirting  the  edge  of  the  Harlem 
Meer,  yet  not  so  closely  but  that  a  foot-path  leaving  the  kitchen- 
garden  has  room  to  run  to  the  earth-works,  and  to  pass  between 
it  and  the  shore  of  the  Meer.  Having  crossed  the  slender  arm 


II ART, EM    MEER. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


171 


of  water  that  connects  the  Loch  and  the  Meer,  by  a  bridge,  the 
road  keeps  on,  nearly  straight,  to  the  end  of  the  Park,  and,  after 
two  turn-outs  for  the  gates  at  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  avenues, 
continues  to  the  Eighth  Avenue  angle,  and  then  begins  its  re- 
turn to  the  lower  park. 

The  body  of  water  covering  an  area  of  nearly  thirteen  acres, 
and  appropriately  called  the  Harlem  Meer,  thus  retaining  a  name 
connected  with  the  early  history  of  the  island,  is  formed,  like  the 


HARLEM    MEER   ANT>  OLII    FOUTIKICATIONS    WITH   KESTAVKANT. 

Terrace  Lake,  by  collecting  the  drainage  of  one  of  the  valleys 
that  cross  the  Park.  We  have  already  passed  two  of  these  in 
our  drive,  arid  this  one  is  the  third  and  last  The  valley  ex- 
tends in  a  diagonal,  quite  from  one  side  of  the  Park  to  the 
other,  and  the  water  collected  by  springs  and  surface  drainage 
is  made  to  do  duty  here,  as  in  the  other  valleys,  in  ornamentation, 
so  as  to  unite  beauty  and  use.  The  water  first  appears  on  the 


172  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

western  side  of  the  Park  opposite  One-Hundred-and-First  Street, 
and  so  near  the  boundary  as  only  to  admit  a  foot  path  between 
it  and  the  wall;  here  it  is  spread  out  into  a  small  expanse, 
which  has  been  called  the  Pool.  A  small  runnel  connects  this 
with  another  expanse,  longer  in  shape  than  the  Pool,  and  with 
steeper  sides,  to  which  the  name  of  the  Loch  has  been  given-,  a 
little  ambitiously,  as  it  seems  to  us.  But,  to  get  names  for  these 
places,  which  are  entirely  appropriate,  is  by  no  means  easy,  and 
we  are  not  disposed  to  fault-finding.  Another  stream,  somewhat 
longer  than  the  former,  connects  the  picturesque  little  Loch  with 
the  large  and  spreading  Meer,  the  surplus  water  of  which  is  carried 
off  by  the  city  sewers.  The  eastern  end  of  the  Harlem  Meer 
extends  from  One-Hundred-and-Sixth  Street  to  within  a  few  feet 
of  One-Hundred-and-Tenth  Street,  the  limit  of  the  Park  on  the 
north.  A  foot-path  runs  round  the  whole  water,  and  at  two 
points  there  are  small  beaches.  This  makes,  in  winter,  a  fine 
skating  pond,  accommodating  nearly  as  many  skaters  as  the 
Terrace  Lake.  Owing  to  its  greater  distance  from  the  city 
proper,  it  has  not  been  so  much  frequented  as  the  lower  water, 
but,  in  time,  there  will  be  but  little  difference  in  the  number 
of  people  who  will  seek  both  of  them,  thronging  in  from  either 
end  of  the  island.  Along  a  portion  of  the  southern  border  of 
the  Meer  the  shore  rises  quite  abruptly,  and  the  summit  is 
crowned  by  the  remains  of  the  earth-works  erected  during  the 
war  of  1812.  These  have  been  neatly  turfed,  and  the  surface 
retained,  as  nearly  as  possible,  in  its  original  shape,  so  that  this 
makes  a  pretty  station  from  which  to  survey  the  spreading  water 
at  our  feet 

The  drive  in  this  upper  portion  of  the  Park  is  much  more 
winding  and  irregular  than  in  the  lower  part;  it  is  particularly 
circuitous  in  the  northwestern  quarter,  where,  at  times,  it  be- 
comes mildly  picturesque,  and  has  really  a  great  deal  of  beauty 
and  variety.  On  a  rocky  summit  near  the  northern  boundary 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


178 


still  stands  a  stone  Block-House — ealled  so,  we  presume,  from 
its  rectangular  shape — used  either  as  a  magazine  or  as  a  fortifi- 
cation, probably  the  latter,  in  the  war  of  1812.  It  made  a  point 
in.  the  line  of  defences  that  crossed  the  island  here,  and  of  which 
abundant  other  traces  remain  at  points  farther  west.  It  had  be- 
come a  receptacle  for  rubbish,  but  the  Commissioners  caused  it 
to  be  cleared  out,  and  a  simple  stairs  put  up  on  the  inside  in 


BLOCK-HOUSE.      WAR  OF    1812. 


order  to  enable  the  visit- 
or to  mount  to  a  plat- 
form at  the  top,  from 
whence  a  beautiful  view 
is  obtained,  east,  west, 
and  north  and  south. 

The  Hudson  River  and  East  River,  with  their  opposite  shores;  the 
Harlem  plain  or  flats,  crossed  by  the  new  avenues  and  Boulevards ; 
Mount  Morris,  the  new  square  which  was  put  under  the  charge  of 
the  Commissioners,  and  then,  for  no  reason  that  can  be  got  at, 
taken  away  from  them;  the  slopes  of  the  southern  sides  of  the 
valley  in  which  Manhattanville  lies,  and  on  which  the  rnuch- 
talked-of  Morning-side  Park  is  to  be  laid  out:  on  the  east,  the 
arches  of  the  Viaduct  for  the  New  Haven  Railroad,  seen  in  our 


17-i 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


cut:  then,  far  away  to  the  north,  the  noble  High  Bridge,  with 
its  lofty  arches  plainly  seen,  and  beyond,  farther  and  farther,  the 
swelling  uplands  of  Westchester,  a  blue-gray  mist  under  the  noon- 
day sun. 

In  this  part  of  the  Park,  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  strewed 
with  large  bowlders,  and  the  rocky  stratum  that  underlies  the  whole 
Park,  and  which,  as  we  have  before  remarked,  crops  out,  or  did 
originally  crop  out,  over  almost  every  square  foot  of  ground, 


VIEW  NEAR  BLOCK-HOUSE,    LOOKING   EAST. 


has  been  allowed  to  show  itself  here  in  considerable  masses 
rising  out  of  the  green  turf,  or  by  the  sides  of  the  walks,  with 
flowers  encircling  their  base,  and  vines  of  honeysuckle,  and  wis- 
teria, and  the  wild  grape  climbing  all  about  them.  The  main  drive 
encircles  the  tract  in  which  the  most  of  these  rocks  are  found, 
leaving  the  walks  among  them  to  be  enjoyed  by  persons  on  foot 
In  time  this  pretty,  picturesque  spot  will  be  second  in  its  attrac- 
tions only  to  the  Ramble ;  at  present,  the  vines  and  shrubs  have 
not  made  a  sufficient  growth,  and  the  place  is  too  far  off  for 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  175 

those  who  live  south  of  the  Park,  but  the  views  from  it  are 
finer  now  than  they  will  be  in  ten  years,  for  by  that  time  we 
may  look  for  the  rising  flood  of  the  city  to  have  swallowed  up 
whatever  there  is  left  of  grass  and  trees  and  garden  ground 
between  this  and  Harlem,  and  there  will  be  nothing  left  for 
us  to  see  from  this  height  but  the  bricks  and  mortar  of  the 
city. 

Within  the  last  year  a  small  spring  has  been  opened  in  the 
rocky  ground  east  of  the  Block-House,  and  its  overflow  has  been 
so  husbanded  as  to  make  a  slender  stream  that  runs  with  a  musical 
tinkle  down  the  slopes,  falling  from  one  rocky  or  reedy  basin  to 
another,  until,  at  length,  in  a  series  of  pretty  miniature  cascades, 
it  reaches  a  circular  pool  on  the  level  ground  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill.  Just  at  present,  the  surroundings  of  this  streamlet  are 
somewhat  bare,  but,  in  a  year  or  two,  when  the  water  plants 
are  fairly  growing,  and  the  climbing  vines  have  been  won  to 
run  this  way,  and  the  birds  that  haunt  such  streams  have  found 
the  road  hither,  there  will  have  been  added  to  this  portion  of 
the  Park  all  that  it  needed  before,  to  make  it  as  picturesque  as 
the  neighboring  Ravine,  to  which  it  is  designed  to  serve  as  an 
artistic  balance  and  contrast 

A  path  leads  down  by  rocky  steps  to  the  Harlem  Meer,  from 
which  we  turned  off  to  look  at  the  Block-House,  and  to  enjoy 
the  view  from  its  top.  Following  this  path,  and  reaching  the 
walk  that  runs  along  the  western  side  of  the  Meer,  we  come  to 
the  stream  of  which  we  have  before  spoken  as  draining  the  north- 
ernmost of  the  valleys  that  cross  the  Park.  A  light  bridge  crosses 
the  stream,  and  the  path  leading  on  by  the  water  side  for  two 
hundred  feet  or  so,  we  come  to  a  picturesque  bridge  by  which 
the  carriage-road  is  enabled  to  cross  both  the  foot-path  and  the 
brook.  It  is  formed  of  large  stones  piled  rudely  together,  and 
forming  a  rather  savage  and  dangerous  looking  tunnel,  under 
which  we  pass  for  the  first  time  with  not  a  little  inward  mis- 


170 


D  K  SCRIPTION    OF    T  H  K 


giving,  wliieli  nothing  but  our  confidence  in  the  skill  of  the 
Park  engineers  enables  us  to  overcome.  The  rooks  are  not 
laid  in  mortar,  but  are  held  in  place  by  their  weight  alone,  and 


BOCKT   BBIDOE  IN  HA  VINE. 


an  ample,  comfortable  seat  of  rustic  wood-work  enables  us  to  get 
pleasantly  accustomed  to  the  horror  of  the  situation  while  we 
eat  our  luncheon.  Over  all  such  structures  as  this,  the  art  of 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 


177 


the  Park  gardener  hastens  to  throw  some  veil  of  bloom  or  ver- 
dure that,   in  time,   will  take  away,   for  timid  people,  the  look 


of  danger,  and  will  recon- 
cile the  artist  to  what 
would  else  seem  too  bare 
and  bleak  for  such  sur- 
roundings. Already  the 
Cobea,  a  rampant  and 
showy  climber,  with  its 
curious  purple  bell-flow- 
ers is  beginning  to  clothe  these  rocks,  and  before  long  the  more 
hardy  vines  will  have  covered  the  whole  archway. 

Passing  through  the  Tunnel,  we   come  upon   an  extremely 

23 


CASCADE   ABOVE   THE   IJOCKY   AECHWAT. 


178 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


pretty  cascade  which  falls  into  the  upper  end  of  a  spreading 
pool.  A  foot-path  leads  off  from  the  main  one  upon  which  we 
are  walking,  and  brings  us  to  a  point  where  we  can  get  a  better 
view  of  the  tumbling  water.  Close  by  is  a  spring  welling  out 
of  the  rock,  with  a  friendly  cup  suspended,  and  the  path  that 
has  led  us  to  this  pool  will  take  us,  if  we  follow  it,  up  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  hollow  to  another  walk  that  runs,  like  the 


I   ASCADK    AT    HEAD    OK    l.OCH. 


one  we  left,   along  the  border  of  the  Loch,  but  not  so  near  its 
shore. 

Taking  either  of  these  paths,  and  they  both  meet  again  at 
the  head  of  the  Loch,  we  get  a  view  of  this  pretty  piece  of 
water  which  should  have  a  colony  of  wild  ducks  of  its  own  to 
be  in  keeping  with  its  name.  It  is  a  longish  stretch  of  water, 
with  its  steep  sides  in  a  way  to  be  well  wooded  before  many 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


179 


years,  and  though  it  is  calm  and  tranquil  enough  for  nearly  all  its 
length,  reflecting  the  trees  that  hang  about  it,  and  the  blue  of 
the  overarching  sky,  while  the  snow-white  swans,  wrhose  home 
it  is. 

''Float  double,   swan  and  shadow." 

But,  toward  the  farther  end,  where  it  receives  the  water  of  the 
running  stream  that  flows  from  the  Pool,  the  smooth  surface 


HRIKOE  OVER  THE  CASCADE. 


of  the  Loch  is  ruffled  by  the  tumble  of  two  cascades,  one  of 
which  is  made  by  the  main  stream  seeking  a  lower  level,  and 
the  other  by  a  small  runnel  that  flows  into  the  Loch  from  the 
wooded  hillside  at  the  left.  The  visitor  should  not  fail  to  leave 
the  walk  he  has  been  following,  at  this  point,  and  trace  the 
smaller  of  the  two  streams  to  its  source,  not  very  remote. 

The  path  leads  up  the  bushy  slope   almost   at   right   angles 
to  the  walk  that  follows  the  margin  of  the  Loch,  and  the  visitor 


180 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


has  hardly  gone  many  steps  beyond  the  first  cascade  before  he 
hears  the  low  thunder  of  another,  and  evidently  a  larger  one. 
Pushing  on,  he  finds  himself,  after  a  short  walk,  in  one  of  the 
prettiest  of  the  many  pretty  nooks,  of  which  there  are  so  many 


SABBINA'S  POOL,   NEAR  THE  RAVINE. 

in  the  Park ;  yet,  charming  as  is  the  place,  we  had  passed  many 
a  day  in  the  Ravine,  and  had  often  sat  with  book  or  luncheon 
within  a  few  hundred  feet  of  it,  before  we  discovered  its  ex- 
istence. After  once  or  twice  crossing  the  stream  that  bubbles 
so  pleasantly,  half  hidden  by  the  leaves,  the  path  widens,  and 
we  see,  at  the  left  hand,  an  ample  seat  of  rustic- work,  whose 
cozy  ins-and-outs  answer  to  the  irregularities  of  the  large  rock 
against  which  it  is  placed,  and  which  is  almost  entirely  covered 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.          181 

from  sight  by  a  canopy  of  wild  vine.  Directly  opposite  this, 
the  pretty  cascade  shown  in  our  cut  falls  into  a  circular  basin 
over  a  rocky  wall,  the  clefts  and  crannies  in  which  are  set  thick 
with  mosses  and  branching  ferns,  while  the  side  of  the  basin  next 
the  path  is  bordered  with  a  bright  circle  of  the  flowers  that  love 
the  neighborhood  of  water.  Here,  in  the  spring,  we  come  to  find 
the.  iris  and  the  dog-tooth  violet;  and,  later,  the  cardinal-flower 
lightens  up  the  shade  with  its  splendid  bloom.  The  place  is  so  re- 
moved from  observation  by  being  off'  the  accustomed  walk,  that  one 
might  easily  sit  here  for  hours  together,  and  read  or  sketch  without 
seeing  any  other  visitor,  unless  it  were  the  grey  rabbit,  who  lives 
hereabouts,  and  who  sometimes  comes  hopping  along  the  path  ;  or 
the  robin,  who  has  built  her  nest  in  this  hazle-brake,  and  who, 
if  we  are  very  quiet,  will  even  pick  up  our  crumbs  for  her  chil- 
dren's dinner;  or  the  dark  butterflies,  who  hover  over  these  beds 
like  flowers  over  flowers ;  or,  best  of  all,  the  humming-bird,  who 
darts  suddenly  out  of  space  at  the  rosy  blossoms  of  this  great 
Weigela-bush  twenty  times  in  an  hour,  and  if  he  happens  to  find 
another  of  his  family  here  before  him,  will  treat  us  to  as  pretty 
a  fight,  as  fierce  and  determined  as  if  he  and  the  other  little  ball 
of  green  and  gold  fire  were  human  beings  contending  for  a  con- 
tinent. With  such  sights  we  can  amuse  ourselves  in  this  shaded 
retreat ;  and  if  it  were  not  for  the  occasional  rumble  of  a  carriage 
over  the  road  near  at  hand,  we  might  easily  forget  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  noisy  city.  If  we  follow  the  path  a  little  farther  on, 
we  come  to  this  archway  of  cut-stone,  which  leads  us  under  the 
drive  that  crosses  the  Park  nearly  on  a  line  with  One-Hundred- 
and-Second  Street,  connecting  the  two  main  drives  running  north 
and  south  on  either  side  of  the  Park,  and  issuing  upon  the  two 
bounding  avenues  by  the  "Girls'"  and  "Boys'"  gates.  This 
archway  is  very  low,  and  by  no  means  cheerful ;  but  its  want 
of  height  gives  it  a  quaint  look  that  is  in  keeping  with  the  sur- 
rounding objects.  For  this  nook  has  an  aspect  different  from 


182 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


any  thing  else  in  the  Park,  and  pleases  by  its  unexpectedness 
as  well  as  by  its  picturesqueness.  The  darkness  of  the  archway 
too  makes  the  sunlighted  landscape  seen  from  either  end  more 
bright ;  we  look  out  upon  the  world  as  from  a  cavern.  And, 
in  time,  it  will  be  still  more  like  a  cavern,  for  it  is  fast  being 
overgrown  with  the  trailing  vines  planted  above  its  mouth,  and 
the  trees  and  shrubs  overhead,  and  about  its  sides,  already  con- 
ceal a  large  part  of  the  stone- work  On  entering  the  archway 


4ECH   OVEK    FOOT-PATH    NEAE    RAVINE. 


we  hardly  lose  the  sound  of  the  first  cascade  before  we  hear  the 
rumbling  of  a  second,  and  presently  come  upon  it  at  the  farther 
end  of  the  tunnel,  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  entrance.  This 
cascade  falls  over  rocks  into  a  rocky  basin,  and  is  at  present  less 
attractive  than  the  one  at  the  other  end,  because  the  vines  and 
shrubs  and  water-plants,  the  ferns  and  mosses,  have  not  had  time 
to  grow,  and  soften  the  rude  outlines  of  the  stones.  The  water 
from  this  basin,  after  passing  under  the  foot-path,  and  also  under 
the  bridle-path  and  carriage-drive,  reissues  at  the  northern  end 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


183 


of  the  tunnel,  and,  falling  over  the  bank,  makes  the  cascade  be- 
fore which  we  sat  so  long,  watching  the  butterflies  and  humming- 
birds. The  way  in  which  this  liquid  problem  is  solved,  does 
not,  at  first,  appear  to  the  uninitiated,  to  whom  the  two  cascades 
appear  to  fall  from  nearly  the  same  level,  and  many  will  find 
it  far  more  interesting  and  instructive  to  spend  a  lazy  hour  in 
making  out  how  the  ingenious  engineers  have  contrived  this 


BUIDfiE    FOR   CARRIAGE-ROAD   OVER   RAVINE. 


puzzle,    than    in    feeding    rabbits    and    robins,    or   following   the 
victories  of  quarrelsome  humming-birds. 

As  this  path,  if  followed  farther,  will  only  lead  us  away  from 
the  Ravine,  and  as  there  are  no  objects  of  peculiar  interest  in  this 
neighborhood  beyond  the  dell  with  its  twin  cascades,  we  will 
retrace  our  steps,  and  seek  again  the  head  of  the  Loch.  The 
foot-path,  after  passing  a  turn-out  leading  over  the  rustic  bridge 
which  spans  the  small  cascade,  of  which  we  gave  a  picture  on  page 


184  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

178,  continues  by  the  side  of  a  narrow  runnel  connecting  the  Loch 
with  the  much  larger  Pool.  Near  the  upper  end  of  this  runnel, 
and  just  before  it  widens  into  the  Pool,  we  come  to  a  singular 
bridge  crossing  both  the  foot-path  and  the  water,  a  combination 
of  rustic  wood-work  and  stone-masonry  that  seems  to  us  by  no 
means  in  good  taste.  It  is  ugly  in  its  design,  the  lines  being 
neither  beautiful  nor  strong;  and,  although  we  have  no  doubt  it 
is  thoroughly  well  built,  and  capable  of  bearing  all  the  pressure 
that  it  will  ever  be  called  upon  to  bear,  it  does  not  look  strong, 
and  this  apparent  weakness  is  fatal  to  any  claims  that  may  be 
made  for  it  on  the  score  of  design.  As  the  abutments  are  very 
solid,  we  hope  the  Commissioners  will  before  long  throw  an  arch 
of  stone  over  this  foot-path,  and  the  stream  of  water  that  runs 
beside  it.  Apart  from  any  question  of  taste,  this  bridge  is  an 
object  of  considerable  curiosity.  On  the  left  hand  side  of  the 
foot-path,  in  a  recess  of  the  abutment  of  the  bridge,  is  a  large  and 
comfortable  seat  made  of  cedar  branches  and  twigs,  from  which 
the  bark  has  been  removed,  and  in  the  opposite  abutment  an 
ample  arched  recess  contains  a  huge  boulder,  whose  smooth  face 
is  kept  continually  black  and  moist  with  the  drip  of  water  from 
springs  in  the  bank  above.  Water-loving  plants  are  gradually 
making  a  lodgment  in  the  clefts  and  crannies  of  this  rough 
masonry,  and  it  is  likely  that  before  long  the  whole  interior  of 
the  archway  will  be  transformed  into  a  cool  green  grotto,  a  place 
into  which  the  summer  heats  will  be  afraid  to  come,  for  fear  of 
taking  cold. 

It  is.  pretty,  too,  sitting  on  this  comfortable  sofa,  to  look  out 
upon  the  waterfall  that,  in  a  succession  of  plunges  from  the  higher 
waters  of  the  Pool,  gains  the  seclusion  of  the  basin  on  the  other 
side  of  the  archway.  When  an  abundance  of  rain  has  fallen,  and 
the  Pool  is  full,  this  fall  is  perhaps  the  finest  in  the  Park,  but  it  is 
rarely  too  low  to  be  unattractive.  Indeed,  the  natural  drainage 
of  the  ground,  with  the  husbanding  of  the  springs,  secures  to  all 


N  K  W    YORK    C  K  X  T  R  A  L    P  A  R  K 


185 


the  waterfalls,  as  to  all  the  sheets  of  water,  large  and  small, 
throughout  the  Park,  an  abundant  supply  even  in  seasons  of 
drought. 

By  crossing  the  bridge  that  spans  this  cascade,  we  can  continue 
our  walk  on  the  other  side  of  the  Pool,  or  we  can  keep  to  that  on 
which  we  began,  if  we  prefer.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show 


EUSTIC    BRIDGE   ANI>   CASCADE    IN    RAVINE. 


that  the  walks  are  so  arranged  as  to  permit  the  visitor  to  make 
the  circuit  of  all  the  three  pieces  of  water,  the  Pool,  the  Loch,  and 
the  Meer,  which  drain  this  northernmost  of  the  transverse  valleys 
of  the  Park.  Not  that  the  path  continually  keeps  to  the  very 

24 


186 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


border  of  the  water;  sometimes  it  leads  us  to  a  considerable 
distance  from  it,  but  rarely  so  far  that  we  are  not  in  sight  of  it, 
and,  even  then,  only  for  a  moment.  Xor  are  we  ever  long  without 
coming  to  one  of  the  six  bridges  that  enable  us  to  cross  from  one 
side  to  the  other,  and  thus  perpetually  to  vary  our  walk.  It  mus.t 
be  remembered,  too,  that  at  the  time  we  are  writing  the  whole 
northern  half  of  the  Park  is  far  from  being  finished,  and  that 
every  year,  for  some  years  to  come,  the  Commissioners  will  be 
adding  to  the  attractions  and  to  the  yariety  of  this  neighborhood. 


THE   POOL. 


Naturally,  it  is  a  region  much  more  capable  of  picturesque  treat- 
ment than  the  lower  park,  or  than  that  portion  of  the  upper  park 
that  lies  near  the  Great  Keservoir.  In  the  northwestern  quarter, 
for  example,  there  is  a  profusion. of  scattered  boulders  beside  a 
great  quantity  of  fixed  rock,  and  this  gives  opportunity  to  the 
Commissioners  to  open  new  paths,  almost  every  season,  in  and 
out  between  these  clefts  and  among  these  craggy  irregularities. 


THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.         1^7 

Such  a  walk  has  been  opened,  since  the  tenth  report  was  issued, 
across  the  space  thickly  strewn  with  boulders,  which  lies  along 
the  western  end  of  the  Meer  and  the  stream,  that  connects  it  with 
the  Loch.  It  is  an  extremely  pretty  rural  path,  and  resembles 
some  of  those  we  find  in  the  Ramble,  except  that  it  is  much 
wilder. 


The  Pool  is  a  larger  sheet  of  water  than  the  Loch,  and  much 
more  irregular  in  its  shape.      A  large  house,  probably  occupied 


UN  THE  roof,   T.HOKI.NT.   NOHTHWEST. 


by  some  of  the  people  employed  in  the  Park,  stands  at  some 
distance  from  it,  but  on  rising  ground,  so  that  it  is  easily  seen  from 
the  walk  at  frequent  points.  Indeed,  it  appears  much  nearer  to 
the  Pool  than  the  map  shows  it  to  be,  and  the  northern  side  of 
the  Lake  looks,  in  places,  like  the  lawii  stretching  down  from  the 


1S8 


DKSCRI  PTIOX    OF    T  II  K 


liouse  to  the  water.  There  is  a  small  rocky  island  in  one  place, 
and  portions  of  the  shore  are  somewhat  rocky,  while  at  the  eastern 
end  there  is  a  miniature  beach,  where  one  may  always  be  pretty 
sure  of  finding  the  ducks  and  some  queer  geese  or  other,  oiling 
their  plumage  for  another  plunge  into  this  water,  of  which  they 
have  the  monopoly,  as  against  all  the  little  boys  in  the  world 
longing  to  emulate  them  in  swimming.  The  paths  on  either 
side  the  Pool  are  united  by  a  cross  path  at  the  western  end,  and 
are  both  led  to  the  "Boys'  Grate,"  opposite  One  Hundredth  Street. 


OLD  HOUSE  BY  RESERVOIR. 


Another  walk,  however,  leads  us  farther  south,  and  enables  us  to 
continue  our  ramble  within  the  limits  of  the  Park. 


The  road  now  runs  on  the  western  side  of  the  Park,  skirting 
the  wide  tract  of  open  ground  called  the  Meadows,  then  crossing 
the  fourth  traffic-road  for  the  second  time,  and  winding  in  and 
out  among  the  thickly  planted  trees  of  the  open  space  between 
the  old  Reservoir  and  the  Eighth  Avenue.  This  portion  of  the 
road  the  Commissioners  intend  for  a  winter  drive,  and  they  have 
accordingly  planted  a  great  number  of  evergreens  on  either  side, 


T  HE    NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PA  R  K  . 


189 


not  monotonously,  but  with  plenty  of  agreeable,  open  space, 
clustering  them  thickest  on  the  land  that  slopes  from  the  Reser- 
voir. Near  the  Reservoir,  in  the  northeast  corner  of  this  par- 
allelogram, formerly,  stood  an  old  house  of  considerable  size, 
surrounded  by  large  willows.  This  has  lately  been  removed, 
the  Croton  Aqueduct  Board,  which  owned  it  and  used  it  as 
a  dwelling  for  some  of  the  persons  employed  in  its  service  in 
connection  with  the  two  Reservoirs,  having  erected  a  new  dwell- 
ing-house of  stone  on  the  ground  between  the  old  Reservoir  and 


SI.KHlHTXtl    HY    TIIK    WILLOWS. 


the  fourth  traffic-road.  The  old  willows  that  surrounded  the 
former,  house  have  been  allowed  to  stand,  and,  with  their  irregular 
forms  and  drooping  foliage,  make  a  picturesque  contrast  with  the 
evergreens  that  surround  them. 

The  portions  of  the  Park  on  either  side  of  the  old  Reservoir 
are  arranged  with  a  good  deal  of  skill,  to  make  that  structure  as 
little  of  an  eye-sore  as  possible,  but  the  treatment  of  the  western 


190 


DE8CKIPTION    OF    THE 


side  is  at  present  far  more  effective,  both  in  itself  and  for  the  end 
proposed,  than  that  of  the  eastern.  But,  with  skilful  planting,  the 
two  sides  will  no  doubt  before  long  become  very  nearly  equal, 
though  it  will  hardly  ever  be  possible  to  make  the  existence  of 
the  Reservoir  forgotten  altogether.  The  plan  shows  that  the  space 
on  the  west  is  much  more  cut  up  with  walks  and  drives  than  the 
eastern ;  the  carriage-ride  and  the  horse-path  run  quite  apart,  and 
the  foot-paths  are  almost  as  winding  here  as  in  the  Ramble  near  by. 


HALi  OST    BBIIXJE.    WEST   SIDE. 


As  the  drive  passes 
along  the  western  side  of 
the  Lake,  it  crosses  the 
Balcony  Bridge,  of  which 
we  spoke  in  our  earlier 
pages,  while  to  the  right 
hand,  between  this  bridge  and  the  Eighth  Avenue,  the  foot-path 
crosses  the  prettv  rustic  bridge  seen  in  our  cut,  and  just  before 
reaching  the  Balcony  Bridge,  the  foot-path  at  the  left  crosses  the 
elegant  bridge  of  oak  and  iron,  and  enters  the  Ramble  near  the 
Cave. 

Southwest;  of  the  Lake,  the  drive,  after  dividing  and  passing 
round  the  oblong  piece  of  ground  on  which  the  Restaurant  for  gen- 
tlemen more  particularly  is  to  be  erected,  unites  again  to  divide 
immediately,  and  turns  to  left  and  right.  The  road  to  the  right 


XEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


191 


keeps  on  in  a  line  as  direct  as  may  be,  first  sweeping  gently  into  a 
point  where  it  crosses  the  first  traffic-road,  in  common  with  the 
horse-path  and  two  foot-paths,  so  that  the  traffic-road  is  not  seen 
at  all,  and  the  four  roads  are  hid  from  each  other  by  shrubbery. 
From  this  point  the  road  trends  slightly  outward,  crossing  the 
horse-path  once,  and,  a  little  farther  on,  the  foot-path,  by  bridges, 
and  soon  reaches  the  Merchants'  Gate,  at  the  southwestern  angle 
of  the  Park,  Fifty-ninth  Street  and  Eighth  Avenue. 


HUSTIU    BRIDGE,    NEAR   IIAU'OXY    BRIDGE,    r.OOKIXO    WEST. 

The  turn  to  the  left,  at  the  point  we  just  started  from,  is  a 
more  interesting  way  of  leaving  the  Park  It  strikes  at  once  for 
the  middle  of  the  Park,  runs  along  nearly  parallel  to  the  Mall, 
though  not  in  a  straight  line,  and  at  its  southern  end  gives  the 
visitor  the  choice  of  passing  in  to  the  East  Drive,  and  so  out  by 
the  Fifth  Avenue ;  or,  by  keeping  due  south,  and  then  turning 
west,  to  reach  the  Eighth  Avenue  gate. 


In  the  very  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Lord  Bacon 


D  E  S  G  R  I  P  T  I  0  X    O  F    T  H  K 

wrote  in  his  Advancement  of  Learning: — ''In  preparation  of  medi- 
cines, I  do  find  strange,  especially  considering  how  mineral  medi- 
cines have  been  extolled,  and  that  they  are  safer. for  the  outward 
than  inward  parts,  that  no  man  hath  sought  to  make  an  imitation 
by  art  of  natural  baths  and  medicinable  fountains;"  and  he  counts 
such  methods  of  cure  among  the  things  in  winch  our  knowledge 


;ViM    ' 


IIUSTIC   BRIDGE,    NEAR   BAI.COXT   BRIDGE,    LOOKING  EAST. 


is  deficient.  But  the  reader  of  these  pages  does  not  need  to  be 
told  that  this  want  has  long  been  supplied,  and  that  he  may  drink 
in  his  own  house,  or  at  more  than  one  counter,  to-day,  a  perfect 
imitation  of  any  one  of  the  notable  mineral  springs  either  of  this 
country  or  of  Europe.  A  firm  in  our  city  have  obtained  per- 
mission from  the  Board  to  erect  in  the  Park  a  building  for  the 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


193 


sale  of  these  mineral  waters,  and  we  shall  find  it  nearly  com- 
pleted on  the  road  we  are  now  following,  west  of  the  Terrace 
and  on  a  rising  ground.  The  building  is  to  be  a  very  elegant 
one;  it  was  designed  by  the  Messrs.  Vaux  and  Withers,  and  will 
cost  $30,000. 

As  we  pass  the  Mall,  especially  if  it  happen  to  be  on  a  music- 
day,  the  contrast  between  the  views  on  either  side  is  quite  striking. 


OAK    BRIDGE. 


On  our  left  hand,  if  we  are  leaving  the  Park,  the  long  walk,  with 
its  crowds  of  gayly-dressed  people  clustered  thick  as  bees  about 
the  graceful  flower-like  music  stand,  makes  a  bright  and  cheerful 
picture,  suggestive  of  the  city  and  of  city  life;  while  on  the  right 
is  the  broad,  lawn-like  expanse  of  the  green,  with  its  flock  of  one 


194 


D  E  S  C  R  I  P  T  I  0  X    OF    THE 


hundred  and  sixty-three  Southdown  sheep,  with,  their  keeper,  pre- 
senting an  appearance  of  pastoral  simplicity  as  he  wanders,  crook 


in    hand,    after    his 

nibbling  charge,  and 

carrying  the  mind  far 

enough    away    from 

the  sights  and  sounds 

of     the     environing 

city.      If  we  are  of  a  too  practical  turn  to  let  this  pretty  scene 

lead  us  in  imagination  to  those 


OAK    BRIDGE,    SECOND   VIE 


"  Russet  lawiis  anil  fallows  grey, 
Where  the  nibbling  Hocks  do  stray, 
***** 
Meadows  trim,  with  daisies  pied, 
Shallow  brooks  and  rivers  wide," 


that  are  to  be  found  in  the  true  country,  we  may  please  ourselves 
with  the  prudent  reflection  that  these  sheep  make  most  excellent 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 


195 


mutton,  and  produce  the  best  of  wool,  so  that  their  utility  fairly 
balances  their  good  looks ;  beside  which,  they  keep  the  lawn  in  the 
best  condition  by  constant  cropping  and  manuring. 


THE   SHEPHERD. 


As  we  cross  the  traffic-road,  we  come  in  sight  of  the  Play- 
Ground,  an  open  tract  of  ten  acres,  exclusively  devoted  to  boys1 
games.  The  Controller  and  Treasurer  of  the  Park,  Mr.  Andrew 


198 


DESCEIPTIO  N    O  F    T  11  K 


II.  Green,  to  whose  watchful  eye  and  constant  supervision  we  are 
indebted,  and  not  less,  to  his  ingenious  suggestions,  for  much  that 
makes  the-  Park  attractive  to  the  masses  of  the  people,  has  always 
strongly  sympathized  with  Messrs.  Vaux  and  Olmsted  in  their  de- 
sire to  make  the  Park  a  place  of  popular  education  as  well  as  one 
of  mere  enjoyment.  At  the  same  time,  it  has  been  evident  that, 
considering  the  limits  of  the  Park,  and  the  great  variety  of  tastes 
to  be  consulted,  it  cannot  be  conceded  that  the  lawns  and  open 
spaces  of  the  city's  only  pleasure-ground  shall  be  open  at  all  times 
freely  to  those  who  wish  to  use  them  for  athletic  games.  Nothing 


FLAY-GBOUNl). 


is  more  easily  injured  than  fine  turf — nothing  harder  to  keep  in 
repair.  And  there  are  many  who  do  not  see  why  it  should  be 
used  and  treated  so  carefully.  They  do  not  agree  with  Bacon, 
who  says: — "Nothing  is  more  Pleasant  to  the  Eye  than  Greene 
Grasse  kept  tinely  shorne,"  but  think  it  is  intended  solely  to 
walk  or  romp  upon.  To  permit  any  number  of  people,  whether 
it  were  the  majority  or  the  minority,  to  deal  with  the  chief  orna- 
ment of  a  pleasure-ground,  in  which  both  the  majority  and  the 
minority  have  equal  rights,  is  plainly  impossible,  and  how  to 
manage  the  matter  without  injury  to  the  Park,  and  yet  with  due 
concession  to  the  popular  feeling,  has  been  a  difficult  problem. 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK.  197 

But,  at  last,  it  has  been  settled  this  way :  On  certain  days,  music 
days  or  general  holidays,  the  public  is  allowed  free  use  of  par- 
ticular pieces  of  grass  or  lawn  for  walking,  and  for  the  little 
children  to  play  upon.  It  may  be  said  here  that  the  damage 
done  to  the  grass  on  all  such  occasions  always  takes  several 
days  to  repair !  Beside  this  particular  permission,  the  ten-acre 
tract,  along  which  we  are  just  now  driving,  has  been  set  apart 
as  a  boys'  play -ground,  and  it  is  used  three  days  in  each  week 
by  such  boys  attending  the  public  or  the  larger  private  schools 
as  are  thought  by  their  teachers  to  have  earned  the  privilege  by 
good  conduct.  This  is  a  reward  of  merit  that  the  boys  appreciate, 
and  it  has  thus  far  proved  a  great  incentive  to  study  and  to  good 
conduct.  Thousands  of  our  schoolboys  have  used  the  Play-Ground 
on  these  terms  since  Mr.  Green  first  established  the  system.  Nor 
are  the  girls  to  be  forgotten.  They  are  to  have  a  play -ground  of 
their  own  south  of  the  Children's  Gate,  near  the  Fifth  Avenue  and 
Seventy-second  Street,  and  a  pretty  house  has  been  erected  for 
their  accommodation,  where  they  may  make  simple  changes  in 
their  dress,  lay  aside  hats  and  cloaks,  overshoes  and  umbrellas, 
and  where  they  may  find  croquet  balls,  rings,  and  mallets,  hoops, 
skipping-ropes,  and  even  bats  and  balls,  if  they  have  got  as  far. 
The  increased  demands  upon  the  area  of  the  Play  Ground  by 
the  boys  of  the  public  schools,  have  made  it  necessary  to  have  a 
building  for  their  accommodation  also,  at  a  point  near  their  place 
of  play.  The  foundations  of  an  extremely  simple,  but  very  pretty, 
house  of  brick  and  stone  have  been  laid  at  the  north  end  of  the 
Play-Ground,  to  serve  as  a  place  of  deposit  and  distribution  of  the 
bats  and  balls  and  other  paraphernalia  of  the  game  of  base-ball, 
and  also  for  toilet  arrangements.  The  capacity  of  the  Play- 
Ground  is  often  found  insufficient  to  accommodate  all  who  come 
to  play.  When  the  bases,  into  which  the  ground  is  divided,  are 
filled,  as  is  often  the  case,  arrangements  are  made  for  the  rest  on 
the  neighboring  Green.  The  Commissioners  of  the  Park  are  thus 


198 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 


developing,  year  after  year,  their  intention  to  make  the  Park  useful 
to  the  children  of  the  city,  and  an  aid  in  its  beneficent  system  of 
common-school  education.  The  whole  Park  is  looked  upon  by 
them  as  an  adjunct  to  that  system — a  necessary  and  logical  part 
of  it. 

The  mention  of  the  Children's  Gate  reminds  us  that  we  have 
made  no  allusion  as  yet  to  the  names  that  have  been  given  to  the 
Park  entrances  by  the  Commissioners,  and  which  it  is  intended,  at 
some  future  dav,  to  associate,  by  some  simple  but  expressive  sym- 
bolism, with  the  gate- ways  that  will  be  erected  at  these  points. 


VIEW  NEAR  BOYS'    GATE,    LOOKIXG   WEST. 


The  naming  of  the  gates  early  received  the  attention  of  the 
Commission,  and,  m  the  Fifth  Annual  Report  (1862),  there  was 
published  a  lengthy  "  Report  on  the  Nomenclature  of  the  Gates 
of  the  Park,"  the  suggestions  in  which  were  adopted  by  the  Com- 
missioners, and  have  since  been  carried  out  with  scarcely  any 
modifications. 

There  can  hardly  be  any  doubt,  we  should  think,  as  to  the 
desirableness  of  having  names  given  to  the  several  gate-ways  by 
authority,  and  that,  too,  as  earty  as  possible,  so  as  to  prevent 
what,  for  lack  of  a  better  term,  we  may  call  nick-names  being 
fastened  upon  the  entrances  by  the  public,  as  has  often  happened 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  jgg 

in  the  older  countries.  Beside,  there  is  a  certain  unity  of  thought 
and  design  in  the  Park  itself,  and  it  seems  fitting  enough  that 
the  naming  of  the  entrances  should  grow  out  of  that  theory 
which  the  Commissioners  have  been  aiming  to  carry  out  in  the 
arrangement  and  regulation  of  the  Park  ever  since  the  work- 
was  fairly  begun.  The.  Central  Park  is  the  pleasure-ground 
of  the  chief  city  in  a  great  republic.  It  has  not  been  set  apart 
by  any  privileged  class  for  its  own  use  and  entertainment,  but 
is  the  creation  of  the  whole  people  of  the  City  of  New  York  for 
their  own  enjoyment,  and,  with  a  large  hospitality,  they  invite 
the  rest  of  the  world  to  share  it  freely  with  them  on  equal  terms. 
In  naming  the  gates,  therefore,  that  are  to  give  entrance  to  the 
grounds  thus  set  apart  from  trade  and  traffic  and  mere  material 
use,  for  purposes  of  elevated  pleasure  and  education  in  higher 
things,  it  has  been  thought  fittest  to  select  such  names  as  will 
make  every  working  member  of  the  community,  whether  he 
work  with  his  head  or  his  hands,  feel  his  personal  ownership 
in  the  Park.  To  carry  out  this  idea,  which  is  not  the  less  gen- 
erous for  being  strictly  true,  has  not  been  easy,  nor,  perhaps, 
have  the  Commissioners  wholly  succeeded,  but  their  selection 
of  names  leaves  little  to  be  desired,  and  is  to  be  commended 
as  both  sensible  and  appropriate.  Every  one  of  them  admits 
of  interesting  sculpture  and  striking  symbolism  upon  the  gate- 
way that  will  be  built  for  it  in  the  future ;  nor  is  it  by  any 
means  impossible  that  the  several  trades,  professions,  and  classes 
of  men  represented  by  these  names  may  be  moved  themselves 
to  erect,  or,  at  any  rate,  to  ornament,  the  gate-ways  that  belong 
to  them  with  the  statues  of  their  famous  members,  or  with  sym- 
bolic decorations  of  such  elegance  or  richness  as  they  can  afford. 
The  original  report  supplied  names  for  twenty  gates,*  and 

*  These  were  as  follows: — The  Artisan,  The  Artist,  The  Merchant,  The  Scholar, 
The  Cultivator,  The  Warrior,  The  Mariner,  The  Engineer,  The  Hunter,  The  Fisher- 
man, The  Woodman.  The  Miner,  The  Explorer.  The  Inventor,  The  Foreigner,  The 


200  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

it  is  more  than  likely  that  in  time  this  number  of  entrances 
will  be  needed,  but  at  present  there  are  not  so  many.  Although 
the  report  was  printed,  as  we  have  said,  in  1862,  and  ordered 
to  be  accepted  in  the  same  year,  it  was  not  until  1865  that  its 
suggestions  would  seem  to  have  been  formally  adopted  by  the 
Commissioners.  The  convenient  "  Park  Guide  "  with  the  accom- 
panying "  Reference,''  which  now  appears  regularly  in  the  annual 
reports,  was  first  contained  in  that  for  1864 ;  in  it  the  names  of 
the  gates  are  printed  in  the  ''Reference,"  but  are  not  engraved 
upon  the  map  itself.  In  this  list  of  1864  there  were  only  six- 
teen names  of  gates  given,  instead  of  the  twenty  originally  pro- 
posed. The  Fisherman,  The  Inventor,  and  The  Explorer  are 
omitted,  and  the  Engineer  and  Miner  are  both  included  in  one. 
We  observe,  too,  that  the  name  "Stranger"  has  been  adopted 
in  preference  to  Foreigner,  where  the  report  suggests  either,  and 
that  "Farmer"  has  been  preferred  to  "Cultivator,"'  probably  as 
being  more  familiar.  In  the  next  report,  that  for  1865,  we  find 
the  arrangement  adopted  which  has  since  continued  in  force. 

There  are  now  eighteen  gates  instead  of  sixteen ;  the  names  of 

« 

the  Fisherman  and  the  Inventor  are  still  omitted,  the  Engineers' 
and  the  Miners'  gates  are  again  separated  as  was  at  first  pro- 
posed, and  the  Explorer  of  the  original  report  is  restored, 
under  the  name  of  The  Pioneer,  a  change  for  the  better,  since, 
while  it  does  honor  to  all  such  men  as  Columbus  and  Hudson, 
it  also  includes  the  pioneer  of  our  western  country,  and  the 
brave  fellows  who  have  scaled  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  laid 
the  foundations  of  a  new  empire  for  us  on  the  Pacific  shore. 

Of  course,  if  it  is  found  desirable  or  necessary,  new  gates 
can  be  added  at  any  time,  and  in  case  the  number  should  be 
increased  to  the  original  twenty,  the  names  u  Fisherman "  and 
"Inventor"'  well  deserve  to  be  given  to  the  new  ones.  The 

Boys,  The  Girls,  The  Women.  The  Children,  and  All  Saints. — Report  for  1862, 
page  135. 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK.  201 

Fishermen,  no  less  than  the  Hunters,  are  a  race  apart,  and  the 
craft  has  played  a  more  conspicuous  part  in  the  history  of  our 
relations  with  foreign  powers.  We  have  been  ready  to  go  to 
war  two  or  three  times  for  their  rights,  and  are  quite  ready  to 
go  to  war  for  them  whenever  it  shall  be  necessary.  Socially, 
too,  they  are  a  very  important  class,  as  many  villages,  and  even 
large  towns  are  almost  entirely  made  up  of  fishermen's  families, 
and,  what  is  more,  their  craft  is  not  merely  a  temporary  pur- 
suit, disappearing  before  civilization  like  that  of  the  hunter,  but 
a  steady  business,  as  well  recognized  as  that  of  the  farmer,  and 
while  quite  as  ancient  as  his,  likely  to  last  as  long.  So,  by  all 
means,  let  us  have  a  gate  for  the  Fisherman :  it  will  be  easy  to 
decorate  it. 

The  Inventor,  too,  ought  to  be  honored,  especially  here  in 
America,  where  he  has  played  such  a  notable  part.  What  with 
statues  of  Franklin,  Fulton,  Morse,  Hoe,  Whitney,  Howe,  and 
Morton,  the  gate  would  be  a  trophy  more  splendid  than  could 
be  raised  by  any  other  country  to  her  own  citizens  as  bene- 
factors of  the  whole  world. 

As  we  leave  the  Park  by  whichever  road,  we  catch  glimpses 
of  pretty,  rural  scenery  between  the  clustering  trees.  We  look 
across  the  broad  Play-Ground  with  its  delightful  sweeps  of  ver- 
dant lawn  unbroken  by  the  smallest  shrub  or  tree,  to  where,  on 
the  opposite  side  there  rises  above  the  thick  enclosing  wall  of 
foliage,  the  rocky  knoll  from  which  the  spectator  can  watch  a 
dozen  games  of  base-ball  at  once,  if  he  have  Caesars  power  of 
divided  concentration.  And  what  a  scene  it  is  on  this  sun- 
bright  October  day,  with  its  merry,  noisy,  hubbub  crowd  of 
young  barbarians  all  at  play,  and  the  gay  girdle  of  their  smil- 
ing friends  and  sisters  looking  on  at  this  essentially  American 
tournament!  Is  there  a  pleasanter  sight  on  earth  than  to  see 
a  gathering  of  boys  like  this,  every  one  of  whom  has  earned 
his  right  to  his  afternoon's  sport  by  good  conduct  and  diligence 


202  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

iii  school,  neither  letting  his  full  obedience  to  duty  and  his 
thorough  performance  of  his  task  quell  his  animal  spirits,  nor 
his  inborn  love  of  play- get  the  mastery  over  his  ambition.  Such 
a  sight  as  this  makes  the  heart  hopeful,  it  is  one  of  the  bright 
sides  of  our  American  life,  which  has  its  dark  sides,  as  we  all 
know,  but  even  a  poet  like  Gray  might  have  looked  on  this 
bright  spectacle  without  the  gloomy  foreboding  that  saddens 
his  famous  Ode. 

The  new  house  that  has  just  been  finished  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  little  children,  near  their  Play-Ground,  is  not  so 
ornamental  a  structure  as  the  Boys'  House,  but  it  is  an  exceed- 
ingly cozy,  comfortable  nest,  and  tempts  one  to  inquire  within 
for  permanent  lodgings.  Here  the  little  ones,  with  their  nurses 
or  sisters,  can  take  shelter  from  a  sudden  shower,  or  procure 
some  light  refreshment  suited  to  their  tender  years.  Near  this 
pretty  cottage,  too,  the  Alderney  cows  are  to  be  tethered,  as  in 
some  of  the  foreign  parks,  and  will  supply  an  abundance  of 
milk,  whose  origin  will  be  above  suspicion,  as  its  excellence 
is  pretty  sure  to  be  above  compare.  Whether  city  people  will 
like  it  is  another  matter ;  of  course  those  who  have  been  brought 
up  on  milkman's  milk  will  not  recognize  the  taste  of  nature's 
product,  and  may  pronounce  it  insipid,  but  if  fashion  should 
once  take  a  liking  to  it,  woe  to  the  luckless  milkmen!  Their 
occupation  would  be  gone. 

In  spite  of  the  near  neighborhood  of  the  city,  which  cannot 
be  completely  shut  out  by  any  thing  but  a  very  lofty  growth 
of  trees,  we  are  sometimes  surprised,  even  in  this  southernmost 
portion  of  the  Park,  by  a  view  like  that  which  one  gets  by 
keeping  on  in  a  direction  east  of  the  Children's  Shelter  and 
looking  down  upon  the  Pond.  We  have  already  given  several 
views  of  this  pretty  water,  but  they  are  all  very  different  from 
this,  which,  except  at  one  point,  and  that  not  impossible  to  be 
planted  out  in  time,  has  a  quiet  beauty  that  strikes  one  the 


NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


203 


more  pleasantly  from  the  surprise  of  finding  it  so  near  the  most 
noisy  entrance  of  the  Park.  And  near  the  gate-way  at  the 
Seventh  Avenue,  if  we  are  on  horseback,  we  pass  under  the 
graceful  iron  arch-way,  whose  lines  are  almost  hid  by  the  thick 
veil  of*American  Ivy  that  runs  rampant  over  it.  The  walk  it 


VIEW   NEAB  THE  PONU— FIFTY-NINTH  STKEET. 


carries  runs  along  the  side   of  the   Play-Ground,   and   leads  us 
directly  to  the  Mall  through  the  Marble  Arch. 


We  sometimes  hear  disparaging  remarks  aimed  at  the  Cen- 
tral Park  because  it  is  inferior  in  size  to  a  few  of  the  great  parks 
of  the  world.  But,  for  ourselves,  our  pride  in  it  has  never  been 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

in  its  size,  nor,  indeed,  in  any  thing  that  has  as  yet  been  put  in 
it  by  way  of  ornament.  We  are  proud  of  it  because  it  is  the 
first  undertaking  of  the  kind  in  our  own  country,  and  because 
its  entire  management,  from  the  first  day  until  now,  has  been 
such  as  to  recommend  enterprises  of  this  nature  to  the  whole 
country.  In  no  other  city  in  the  world  is  there  a  park  better 
cared  ibr  or  managed  with  greater  skill  and  efficiency  than  our 
own.  When  we  are  brought  to  shame  by  the  vile  and  dishonest 
government  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  reproached  with  that 
dishonor  as  if  it  were  an  argument  against  Republicanism,  we 
point  to  the  perfect  order  and  quiet  of  the  Central  Park  as  a 
proof  that  we  have  the  remedy  in  our  hands  when  we  choose 
to  apply  it. 

Little  now  remains  to  say,  but  as  we  near  the  Artists'  Gate  we 
see  troops  upon  troops  of  merry  children  with  their  nurses,  com- 
ing in  from  the  cars,  laughing,  chatting,  crowing,  all  on  their  way 
to  the  Children's  Shelter  and  the  Children's  Play-Ground.  This 
is  a  new  institution  in  the  Park,  and  it  ought  to  be  called  the 
Mothers'  Blessing,  for  surely  it  is  a  pleasant  spot  to  fly  to  out 
of  the  dust  and  heat  of  the  city.  Here  under  this  ample  shelter 
with  its  fragrance  of  cedar  and  cool  withdrawal  from  the  sun, 
the  little  ones  may  play  all  day  without  the  possibility  of  dan- 
ger, or  may,  even,  sleep,  with  mother  or  nurse  to  watch  them, 
on  these  ample  benches.  Here  are  a  multitude  of  rustic  tables 
of  various  sizes  for  smaller  or  larger  parties,  where  the  simple 
luncheon  may  be  eaten,  and  in  time  sleek-coated  cows  upon  the 
lawn  will  give  the  purest,  sweetest  milk  to  this  bevy  of  little 
ones.  It  was  a  happy  thought  to  provide  so  generously  and 
beautifully  for  the  youngest  children,  and  who  can  tell  what 
a  difference  it  may  make  in  the  health  and  beauty  of  the  com- 
ing generations,  the  having  such  a  place  and  opportunities  for 
play  and  exercise.  The  frequent  contact  with  grass  and  flowers 
and  trees,  the  mere  seeing  of  the  sky,  is  something  bracing  and 


X  E  W    YORK    CENTRAL    PARK. 


205 


health-giving,  and  the  Park  might  well  have  been  made  for  this 
alone. 

And  so  we   leave  the  Park  with  mingled   feelings   of  pride 
and    thankfulness,    promising    ourselves    many   pleasant  days   in 


its  cheerful  sun- 
light, becoming 
better  and  better 
acquainted  with 
all  that  is  beau- 
tiful  in  it,  and 
learning  better 

and       better        tO    CHILDREN'S  SHELTER,  SOUTHWEST  OK  MALL,  FROM  LOWER  LAKE  LOOKING  EAST. 

profit  by  all  the  wise  care  and  trained  thought  that  have  made 
it  what  it  is.  But  we  who  are  in  middle  life  can  never  know 
all  its  beauty.  That  is  reserved  for  those  for  whom  we  have 
planted  these  shrubs  and  trees,  and  spread  these  level  lawns. 


2UH 


THE  NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  PARK. 


These  trees  will  arch  over  many  happy  generations,  and  thousands 
who  are  not  yet  born,  will  enjoy  the  sweet  green  of  the  grass ;  the 
wood  flowers  will  have  learned  to  bloom  amid  the  hum  of  the  city 
as  regularly  and  as  profusely  as  in  their  wilding  native  places, 
when  those  who  made  this  great  bequest  shall  have  long  passed 
on  to  other  scenes.  But,  if  it  be  pleasant  to  man  to  know  that 


THE  OVAL   BEIDGE   NEAB  8EVENTII   AVENUE. 


he  will  not  be  wholly  forgotten,  let  those  who  conceived  the 
idea  of  this  pleasure-ground,  those  who  designed  its  beauties, 
and  those  whose  public  spirit  and  untired  zeal  have  brought  it 
to  perfection,  be  sure  that  their  memory  will  not  pass  away,  but 
will  renew  itself  year  by  year  with  the  waving  trees  and  blos- 
soming flowers. 


u 


Corfc,  Keep  tljeit  menwrg  0teen!" 


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Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


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2Wi 


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"J;  /< 


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